I found several noteworthy blog posts this week:

The Good We Cannot See, HT to Challies. “I wanted to see the purpose of the suffering; at least a small glimpse. I wanted to understand even a small piece of why God allowed it. I wanted to see the man that Ezra would become because of the pain he endured. I wanted to see a piece of redemption. I wanted to experience the tangible comfort of knowing that God intended the suffering for good with good defined by me. Therein lies the trouble.”

All the Books I’ll Never Read, HT to Linda. This resonated with me so much! “Not only will I never read all the books I wish I could, but I’ll never be all the things that I want to be, or do all the things that I want to do. When this realization first hit me, I have to confess I did not roll with it well.”

What We Miss When We Skip the Prophets. “The prophetic books of the Old Testament make up 250 of the Bible’s 1189 chapters. That’s about 21% of the Bible! And I think those books are sorely neglected.”

Big Heads or Big Hearts, HT to Knowable Word. “Truth and love ought not be thought of as if they are opposites — as if the pursuit of one will automatically detract from the pursuit of the other. Even in specific situations, we shouldn’t think that we need to decide between standing for the truth and loving. We can always do both!”

Beware Toxic Servant Leadership, HT to Challies. “Sometimes, what people mean by servant leadership is not leadership at all. If I only understand leadership as deferring to others and not stepping on people’s toes, then I’m at risk of ignoring what God has called me to do. We have become so allergic to authority that anytime someone expresses any authority at all we immediately recoil. This is not good.”

Why Does John Mention That He Outran Peter to Jesus’ Tomb? HT to Challies. I don’t remember if I ever wondered about this, but I appreciate this answer.

The 15-Minute Block, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “I am obsessed with this idea of the 15-minute block. Anything and everything becomes possible when you break it down into a manageable chunk.”

Should We Capitalize Divine Pronouns? I’ve been taught all my life that capitalizing pronouns referring to God was a sign of respect to Him. But lately I’ve found several sources saying that capitalizing divine pronouns is not necessary–partly because they are not capitalized in the original languages nor in many Bible translations. I’m glad Tim categorizes this as a conscience issue. Author and editor Lori Hatcher discusses the same question in To Capitalize or not to Capitalize: Exploring the Deity Pronoun Question.

Dead Man Talking. Bob Roberts is frequent camp speaker and the founder of Kids4Truth Clubs. We attended the same church for several years. Bob had cancer a few years ago, which went into remission. But now it’s back in his liver, and the prognosis is not good. While undergoing some experimental treatments as a last effort, Bob didn’t want to “waste” his cancer. So he began a podcast with five men who have been his friends for 30+ years to discuss what God is doing in his life. The one I linked to is the third, where he discusses the first half of his “bucket list.” The first one was more general; the second one discussed friendship and the impact of the group potentially losing one member. These are available wherever one listens to podcasts and on YouTube.

If I listened to the wretched talk of proud men, I might sometimes fancy sin was not so very sinful! But I cannot think little of sin, when I look at the cross of Christ. — J. C. Ryle