6 Discontinuities Between the Old Testament & New – A helpful chart on six things that were discontinued with the New Covenant.
Should Christians Be the Best at What They Do? – This states well something that is an old soapbox of mine. It’s not enough just to be competent at your job; as Christians we are empowered to do our work with excellence in a way that unbelievers simply aren’t. (It’s worth reading the post that sparked this contribution as well.) (H/T)
The Danger of Always Looking at Ourselves – “[Beauty] has the power – whether because we possess it or because we lack it – to trap our gaze forever upon ourselves, like Narcissus. At the same time, it also has the power to draw us to the ultimate source of all beauty. We are, after all, made in the image of God, which bestows us with the kind of beauty that Dove can neither give nor take away.”
When My Children Act Out in Public – “In reality, my responses [to when my children act out] can often reflect the idols lurking in my heart. The ones I’ve established on a throne to worship, crafted out of my own wishes and desires. These idols are not made of metal or stone, but they are idols just the same. Because when I care more about the thoughts and affirmations of other people than about what God thinks, I’ve created an idol. When I measure my value and success by the verbal accolades from others about my boy’s good behavior, I’ve created an idol. And when I react out of embarrassment to my children’s behavior, it just might be because I’ve put my idol in first place before God.
Prayerlessness is Selfishness – “If I believe that prayer works, if I believe that prayer is a means through which the Lord acts, if I believe that God chooses to work through prayer in powerful ways and in ways he may not work without prayer, then it is selfish of me not to pray. To pray is to love; not to pray is to be complacent, to be unloving, to be selfish.”
Grace Greater Than All Our Worries – “Trust is the opposite of worry. It requires that we believe all that God has told us about himself. It requires that we believe he is better than everything else, that we trust in his character, his goodness, and his grace (Psalm 9:10). It requires that we look back to all the ways he has provided for and strengthened us in the past. We know what he has said and therefore we have the confidence in what he will do in the future. Trusting God requires that we believe he cares for us, that we keep our eyes on him, not our circumstances (1 Peter 5:7).”
