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A La Carte (December 6)

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The Lord be with you and bless you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number that are worth checking out. You’ll find several by John Stott, David Wells, and so on.

Pain Needs Interpreting

“Rather than just react to pain, the Bible calls us to act towards it. We’re not to just be subject to our pain, blown about in every direction by it. Rather we’re to respond to it, and subject it to the light of God’s word.” In other words, we need to carefully interpret it.

Your Love for Jesus Is Measured by What He Asks of You, Not by How You Treat Christmas

Stephen offers some level-headed thoughts here about Christmas, and about the fact that some Christians celebrate it while others do not.

Is Predestination Unfair?

“A common objection to unconditional election is that it’s unfair. Isn’t God unfair to choose to save only some humans not based on any human condition but solely on his sovereign good pleasure? Isn’t there injustice on God’s part that some people are not elect?” Andy Naselli answers the objection.

9 Biblical Methods for Encouraging One Another

This article by Caleb Davis traces 9 ways that Christians can encourage one another.

Wise Friendship Is Unwaveringly Committed

Al shows that wise friendship is committed friendship. “Fast food is OK if you need a quick hit of sugar and fat, something to give you just enough energy to do what you need to do. But we all know it isn’t good for us, it doesn’t nourish us, it doesn’t build us up. Fast friendship is the same – it has no depth, provides no nourishment, and doesn’t give us life.”

Themelios 48.3

If you are interested in some slightly more academic reading, you may want to take a look at the new issue of Themelios. It offers plenty of articles and book reviews.

Flashback: What Matters Is Not the Size of Your Faith

What secures us in our trials is not the magnitude of our faith, but the power of the one in whom we have placed it. The smallest bit of faith in God is worth infinitely more than the greatest bit of faith in ourselves, or the strongest measure of faith in faith itself.

Loving your neighbor as yourself, when the category of neighbor includes everyone you meet, including your enemies, is a supernatural action, and it is an action that is the proof of our salvation.

—Alistair Begg

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (December 12)

    A La Carte: Christmas words and phrases you didn’t want to admit you didn’t understand / Godliness is attainable / Does God hate the sin but love the sinner? / Odd Christmas phrases / Quick to strategize and slow to pray / and more.

  • New Years Resolution

    Now’s the Time To Consider a New Year’s Resolution

    The Bible says nothing about New Year’s resolutions. It does, however, say a lot about resolutions in general—about the determination and resolve to improve our character, to sharpen our habits, and to live better in the future than we did in the past. In other words, the determination and resolve to be more like Christ.

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    A La Carte (December 11)

    A La Carte: Best Christian music of 2024 / Top theology stories of 2024 / The woke left and right show no mercy / The seven “P”s of prayer / Wrap up some stuff this Christmas / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (December 10)

    A La Carte: Take heed lest you fall into an affair / Empty ritual is the enemy / Will I suffer my singleness forever? / Come all the not so faithful / The art of getting out of the way / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Missions on Point

    This week the blog is sponsored by Propempo International which invites you to explore a revolutionary take on missions on today! What would happen if the local church took its rightful role in global missions? Providing a refreshing look on missions, “Missions on Point,” written by experienced church planter and missionary David Meade, proposes this simple…

  • Songs in the Night

    Those Who Sing Songs in the Night

    Imagine that you are sitting in a prison cell. This is not some posh or even stark 21st-century prison cell, but a primitive Roman one. Your back is pressed against cold stones. Your stomach is aching with hunger. Your nose is assaulted by terrible smells. Your heart is filled with despair. You know your death…