Clarity in the Bible. Wisdom for life. 📧 Weekly newsletter: https://xitter.gq/t.co/xx7ppHFSMJ
Raleigh, NC
Joined May 2009
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Join 4,000+ others to understand the Bible 📖, strengthen your faith ✝️, and live with wisdom 🌱.
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FWIW, Islam has historically spread by conquest and violence.
They don't knock on your door and ask if you'd like to learn more about their god.
Historically, in Muslim-majority nations, they force you to convert or kill you (or you can flee).
Give me door-knocking any and every day.
On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.
A shorter book with practical insights and reflections on preaching.
Overall, the book is exactly what the title says. I think a book like this is especially helpful for newer preachers, but it is still good to see how other guys prepare sermons and how they like to preach them.
There are things that I do differently and wouldn't do the way he does, but I still appreciated his viewpoint and insights into his process.
It's hard to rate a niche book like this, but I recommend it for newer preachers. For those who have been at it for a while, it probably won't change much for you, but you'll like it if you enjoy seeing how other guys approach preaching.
This stuff is funny to me because the statistical probability that we live in a universe and on a planet that can sustain life is so insanely impossible, yet here we are.
That alone is compelling enough to believe God exists. You can deny it, sure, but you can't say there is no evidence.
One thing that really annoys me about this question is that (unfortunately) a good percentage of Christians do not prioritize gathering weekly with their church family.
If you only go to church 1-2 times a month, your pastor will address several topics that you won't hear about... 🤷🏼♂️
But posts like the one below will get you lots of social media engagement. 😑
It is profoundly unwise to neglect gathering with your local church in seasons of major life transitions.
Be it having a baby, the death of a loved one, moving for a new job or school, or any other significant life change. It is often during these major life transitions that we become overwhelmed by everything going on, struggle to adjust to a new reality, or experience grief that we would rather keep private.
But one of the many gifts of the local church is love, support, and encouragement that are so desperately needed in new seasons of life. Satan wants nothing more than to isolate people from the community God designed to love them.
Don’t pull back from God’s people when you need God’s people most.
A lot of people think that as long as they are "good enough," they will go to heaven.
But being good enough won't get you there because it doesn't address the bigger issue.
Here I share why that is the case.
thinking.dylandodson.com/p/y…
Have you been with Jesus?
It is easy to be discouraged at one’s lack of Bible knowledge or ability to refute arguments on the fly against Jesus or even the existence of God. And when you read the New Testament, we see stories of people boldly proclaiming and teaching the gospel.
And yet, what propelled the early apostles and disciples was something anyone can do if they so choose. In Acts 4:13, when Peter and John were on trial for their continued proclamation of the gospel, we see:
“When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
You see, Peter and John did not have the traditional schooling and training of the Jewish religious leaders. They hadn’t gone to seminary and studied the Law as diligently as those who made up the Sanhedrin council, but they had been with Jesus, and it showed.
You will never be as effective a witness for the gospel if you don’t intentionally spend time with Jesus. Habitual spiritual practices create in us a love for Christ that cannot be cultivated by only going to church or reading the Bible occasionally.
Want to be a difference maker where the Lord has you? Have regular times of being with Jesus.
Anyone can do that.
We are preaching through the book of Leviticus right now, and I hit on Leviticus 13 two weeks ago.
For those interested, this might be helpful in understanding what exactly is going on:
youtube.com/watch?v=krNyu2vX…
As I continue reading the Bible, I’ve found myself a little stuck in Leviticus. I’m currently in chapter 13, and some of these passages have really made me pause.
One in particular is the ritual women had to undergo after childbirth.
Having given birth to four children, I never felt unclean or less worthy of God after bringing life into this world. Quite the opposite. I felt closer to Him than ever. For me, childbirth was one of the most profound spiritual experiences of my life.
I believe women hold a unique connection between heaven and earth. We carry and bring into this world the people God sends here. To me, there is something incredibly sacred about that.
So reading that women had to offer animal sacrifices and remain outside the sanctuary after giving birth doesn’t sit quite right with me.
I know some will say I need more context or a deeper understanding. And I’m open to learning. But I’m also allowing myself to question, reflect, and use my discernment as I read.
I’m curious: How do other women interpret these passages? Did you ever struggle with the idea that childbirth, such a sacred and life-giving experience, was followed by a period of ritual impurity?
What happens when you redefine what marriage is.
This is detestable and a shame on our society.
California city makes history allowing throuples, foursomes to legally register as partners trib.al/injZnvo
Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden
A biography of the renowned 18th-century New England pastor, Jonathan Edwards.
Overall, I was disappointed with this book. It is rated as the best Edwards biography, and I enjoy reading biographies, but this one often read more like a detailed review of Edwards's writings and teachings, with life updates sprinkled in along the way.
I did learn a lot about the era in which Edwards lived. Also, while Edwards was a prolific writer, he wrote very little about his personal life, thoughts, and emotions, so I can understand how that could make it difficult for a biographer. Even still, it felt more like a dissertation on Edwards's writings and teachings than a biography of his life.
The book itself is just over 500 pages, excluding the notes and bibliography. However, the pages are slightly larger than average, and the font is smaller than average, so it is a much longer read than the page count suggests. Combined with its length, the often dry and overly detailed writing made parts of the book a slog to get through.
Overall, I am glad I read the book. I enjoyed parts of it, but felt the author often got too into the weeds and did not zoom out enough on Edwards's overall life. I think many would struggle to get through the whole book unless they were particularly interested in Jonathan Edwards and his teachings.
6/10
In Jesus, and only in Jesus, has your debt been wiped clean.
In Colossians 2:14, Paul writes:
“He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.”
Meaning, our sins, guilt, and condemnation that we have incurred by breaking God’s law are wiped clean for those who trust in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Spiritually speaking, we have all accumulated a debt before God because of our sin, a debt that we cannot repay.
But in Christ Jesus, God erases the debt, takes it away, and nails it to the cross. Therefore, we no longer “owe” God anything because our payment has been satisfied.
Jesus did not merely reduce our debt or create a payment plan for us; he completely dealt with all of it. And this is all God’s doing, not our own. What a savior.
It is a good thing for Christians to vote.
Everyone votes for candidates and policies that advance their preferences and legislate their preferred morality. Yet Christians are the only ones told to separate their beliefs from public life.
Christians know the true King whose commands are good, not burdensome, and lead to life. We should vote for the candidates and policies most likely to promote what is good and lead to those ends.
This is the correct take.
Keep changing the clocks. It's a hassle twice a year, and it's worth it.
Lock North Carolina on daylight saving time, and the sun wouldn't come up in Murphy until 8:45 a.m. in January. Lock it on standard time, and Manteo's June sunrise comes at 4:46 a.m.
Switching gets both right. The sun rises by 8 a.m. every day of the year in every North Carolina county, and on the longest days it stays light past 8 p.m. everywhere.
Permanent daylight saving time: every county would get sunrises after 8 a.m., from late fall through winter. Manteo would have 59 of them, Raleigh 83, Charlotte 97 and Murphy 120.
Permanent standard time: summer sunsets before 8 p.m. everywhere, from 7:23 p.m. in Manteo to 7:54 p.m. in Murphy.
The U.S. House voted in July to make daylight saving time permanent. I hope the Senate doesn't.
Change my mind.