Grace and peace to you, my friends. Today’s Kindle deals include two good books I don’t think I’ve ever seen on sale before. (Yesterday on the blog: Don’t Be Reckless With What Others Count Precious) The Vertical, Horizontal, and Inward Realities of Sin “Sin is never done in isolation. In fact, there are vertical, horizontal, and inward effects of it.” David Qaoud explains. How Paul Measured the Missionary Task This article makes some good and useful points about the missionary task. The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard “‘Imaginary gardens with real toads in them.’ That’s how one writer has described the parables of Jesus. They are imaginative stories, but they relate to real life. They are imaginary gardens, but they have real toads in them. Often those toads are us.” This is a short but helpful look at one of those parables and an explanation of why establishing context is so important to the task of interpretation. The Success Of Others Seth considers all he sees of others through social media and asks, “how does my own life measure up to theirs? Is my life still important if it doesn’t include the same kinds of successes that I see other people achieving and enjoying? If they reach higher and go further than I do, am I just one more loser bringing up the rear in some kind of cosmic reality show competition?” How Much Can the Most Famous Dead Sea Scroll Prove? Here’s a look at some of what we learn from the … Continue reading A La Carte (January 13)