Here are several good reads found this week. I hope you find something of interest!
What Draws Me Back: 3 Arguments for Faith on the Days I Doubt, HT to Challies. “I can’t point to a time I considered myself agnostic or atheist, or even on the fence about Christianity. Though I’ve known seasons of suffering and disillusionment, I have no story of losing, then regaining, my faith. I first believed the gospel as a child, and my earliest confession of faith has only deepened over time. But even if my testimony isn’t as dramatic as some of my friends’, it isn’t the case that I’ve never dealt with doubts about God and the gospel. I have. I still do.”
How to Deliver a Difficult Message by Speaking the Truth in Love. “God has placed us in the body of Christ (a.k.a. the Church) so we can help one another mature and grow in Christlikeness (Eph 4:14–15). Often growth involves hearing hard truths. Sometimes we need to have difficult conversations, such as when a spouse does or says hurtful things, a close friend makes harmful decisions, or an employee isn’t performing to standards.” I especially liked the questions concerning whether we need to say anything at all.
Not All Christian Websites are Good for your Health, HT to Challies. “I wonder what the Apostle Paul would say about online Christian discourse? What kind of encouragements and warnings would he give followers of Jesus as we hear and discern and collate the vast quantities of religious speech that’s available on YouTube, Facebook and X?”
We Cannot Afford to Weaken Each Other. “hortly before England’s entry into World War II, Winston Churchill said, ‘We are so few, enemies so many, the cause so great, that we cannot afford to weaken each other in any way’ (The Gathering Storm, p 331). When I read Churchill’s words, I immediately was struck with it’s applicability to our spiritual warfare. It is an easy thing to weaken each other as Christians with verbal sparring.”
Three Steps Forward in Your Walk of Faith. “As women, we find ourselves pulled in a thousand directions as we juggle the demands of family, work, church, and friends. We want to honor God and others, and we want to grow in our relationship with Christ, but frankly, we’re struggling to do it all. We read Isaiah 40:31 about mounting up on wings like eagles, running and not growing weary, and walking and not fainting, but it feels like we’re walking and fainting more than running and flying. But we know the Bible is true, and God never lies. So there must be a way to walk in faith. How do we access this superpower God promises to believers?”
Are We Raising Pharisees? HT to Challies. “Each of these decisions involves different considerations, varying degrees of wisdom, and answers that may differ from family to family. Some decisions have clear biblical implications, but Scripture does not prescribe one specific answer for every situation. You can make all the ‘right’ choices and still miss what matters most.”
Parents, Meet Your Gospel Tutor, HT to Challies. “Compliant kids make our parenting look strong. They make us feel competent. On Sunday morning, our family beams like an online advertisement for biblical parenting. But then God gives you another child. A different kind of gift.”
Are You Being Discipled by Your Device? “I don’t walk with the wicked, stand with sinners, or sit with scoffers, right? But the truth is even if you’re surrounded by solid Christian friends in real life, the media you consume online may well be the counsel of the wicked.”
A Testimony of Spiritual Mothering. “When I left my hometown and moved to Knoxville, I left behind a host of spiritual mothers, many I had known my whole life, including my own mom. I still had them of course, but I prayed before the move that the Lord would prepare a place for us in Knoxville and by a place, I meant a people. He slowly began providing this through friends at work, friends in my grad school program, and eventually in a church home. But the absence of a spiritual mother lingered. Spiritual mothers are people you can melt into. They are safe women, honest women, wise women. Women who feast on the Word and women who battle for you in prayer. Their presence is life-giving, so their absence is noticeable.”
What Are the Noahide Laws? I had not heard of these and didn’t know there was a controversy about them, apparently sparked by something Ben Shapiro said. But Ben Hicks explains them well.
Thank You, Lord, for My Local Pastor: Thirty Reasons for Gratitude. October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and this article presents many reasons to be grateful for the gift of a godly pastor.
Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you.–J.C. Ryle
