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).”

A Mother’s Day Letter - As you continue to honor and celebrate your mom (after all this activity shouldn’t be reserved for a single day), say thanks to all the moms who chose life for their child and who allowed others to be moms as well. (H/T)

Has God Left You in the Fire? - “God is no inattentive smith with the proverbial too many irons in the fire. Every moment of your trial is under his intense scrutiny. He brings infinite wisdom, infinite love, and infinite power all to bear on you when you suffer. His unlimited, eternal resources are engaged to ensure that your trial will not consume you, will not overwhelm you, will not burn you up and leave you wasted in the fire.”

10 Simples Strategies for Prayer – “I know very few people who don’t struggle with prayer. We know we should pray, but doing so consistently and fervently is not easy. Most of our praying is reactionary – that is, in response to a problem – rather than proactive, lifestyle praying.” Here are some strategies to try and change that.

The Power of a Parent’s Words - “My response to my children, whether it is with actual words or even just the tone of my voice, reveal the condition of my heart.” A convicting, and encouraging, post pertinent to any parent.

in Defense of Sports – “I believe sports are a gift, a good gift, that God gave through human creativity for our enjoyment. They should be participated in at every level and in every way as such. And just like all of life, we ought to approach them with thoughtfulness, discernment, and intentionality.” As one married to a sports fan, I appreciated this post.

There Really is a Reason – 12 Benefits of Afflictions - “God is the great artist who produces the ultimate masterpieces – sons and daughters in the likeness of his Son Jesus Christ. So he makes every stroke of the Master’s brush, every tap of the Sculptor’s chisel count.” Here are twelve ways afflictions may be used for good in our lives.

Stuff Christians Say – “It seems to me that there are at least two varieties of words in the Christian lexicon, those that are trite and those that are specific. ‘God thing’ is a trite phrase that has no objective meaning and there is not much to lose if we never use it again. ‘Propitiation’ is a very precise term that has a distinct meaning. It is this second category that I believe we need to hold on to and we need to hold on to such words without shame. We impoverish ourselves when we lose these words. We impoverish ourselves if we never learn and teach these words.”

Virtuous vs. Narcissistic Leadership - “ A virtuous leader will love those with whom he or she works but narcissistic leaders will not because they cannot. The bottom line is that leaders having skill alone is insufficient because, in the long-run, bad character sabotages skill every time.”

The Light Does Shine in the Darkness - A powerful reminder that in the midst of evil, we can still be witness to God’s glory.

He Is A Kind Man - R.C. Sproul, Jr. Writes a moving tribute about the kindness of his dad.

Undermining God’s Plan for Marriage - “The basis of a marriage reflecting God’s plan is how it reflects the gospel. In other words a marriage is reflective of God’s plan in so far as it reflects the marriage between Jesus the husband and the church the bride.” (H/T)

12 Terms for How Christians Participate WIth Christ – The title is pretty self-explanatory; the accompanying chart is helpful.

No Blessing Like Health – Except Sickness - A poignant reminder that it is often our infirmities that make us more effective ambassadors for God.

Escaping the Train to Auschwitz - This is a powerful story of one young boy’s capture and evasion, and how he shares his story with the next generation to ensure that a similar tragedy never happens again.

Envy Hunts in a Pack - “But even gospel-driven sanctification can misfire. Instead of actually applying the gospel to the sin in our hearts, we just wave the disinfectant at the gunk, acting as though the mere presence of the gospel will have some magic effect. We can’t just wield the gospel like a mantra that is supposed to spontaneously transform the filth into fullness and fruit.”

The Lost of Mentoring - This article offers three essentials to mentoring and gives us reasons why we should consider making the investment to do so.  (H/T)

Is Sincerity Enough? - “So a person can be very sincere and not believe in that objective truth. But will their sincerity keep them from experiencing the consequences of not believing in and trusting in Christ? This is where I think we need to realize that by all means we should be encouraging and tolerant (in the right sense) of people’s different viewpoints—but in the end, let’s not apologize for what Jesus actually said. We shouldn’t minimize it by saying, “Well, the important thing is that people are sincere.” Well, it is important whether or not people are sincere. But in the end, it’s also extremely important whether they are right and believe what is true.”

Real Beauty – “We are tempted and begin to think, Oh, it’s not that bad. I deserve this. It’s not a big deal. But the minute we give into sin, Satan twists things by overvaluing the sin and undervaluingthe power of the cross. Once we’ve sinned, we jump to thoughts of never being able to be forgiven, of grace not being enough, of being too evil, too dirty and too unrighteous. That is why the truth of what Christ has done is so amazing. When we confess our sins, God forgives us. He sees what Jesus has done, and He accepts us as clean and holy. He sees us as beautiful.”

Five Ways to Avoid the Drain of Busyness - Feeling overwhelmed and drained by all you have committed to? This article offers five helpful ways to avoid that.

Washing the Feet of the Saints – “We should never think we are above doing these “foot-washing” kind of jobs. Neither should we underestimate their significance. Even the grubbiest of tasks are holy, if done for the glory of Jesus Christ. After all, didn’t our Savior Himself stoop to wash the feet of his disciples? We should consider it an honor to do dirty jobs for Him.”

The “Right Time” God - “Don’t mistake God’s patience for His indifference. Understand that God will act when God will act, and that His time of action is going to be right. We know this of course. Of course we do. But that’s about the second coming of Jesus. The first coming of Jesus happened in a similar way. Not early, and not late, but right on time…”

Non-Christian Complementarianism? - In regards to a recent interview with Gabrielle Reece, the author remarks “[a]s I watched this, it occurred to me that someone might conclude that this is a non-Christian version of complementarian marriage. But actually, ‘non-Christian complementarianism’ is a contradiction in terms—something on the order of ’round square’ or ‘four-sided triangle.’”

Jackie Robinson & The Pattern of Jesus - Jackie Robinson’s impact on baseball is well-known. This post looks at what enables him to have that impact even when many were against him.

A Special Request Home run - This article should be read by all baseball fans, and if you aren’t one, you should read it anyway.

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking to the Women Bible Studies at Compass Bible Church. If you are interested in watching the video of the teaching you can do so at the link below: (Pardon the waning voice at the end. God graciously allowed me to get through the message before I lost my voice the next day.)

Cries of the Heart – “In the Psalms, David described himself as one wounded and crying in his bed at night. This same David spoke of the happiness that came when he took his cry to the Lord. With that same confidence, let us begin our journey toward a response to the cries of our hearts. We might be surprised to know how much bottled-up sentiment will be uncovered. When God speaks we will not respond by saying, ‘Don’t say a thing;’ rather, we can rest in God’s comfort, knowing that God has bothered to hear our cries, to know our tragedies, and to come near in our need.”

Brennan Manning & Me - Writing on Brennan Manning’s death, the author gives a moving tribute and states “If you read him, please remember that the Holy Spirit is working through him in spite of all his personal failings. Thank God, because that’s how He works in all of us.”

Ware on Louisville Teammate - Kevin Ware’s injury was part of the national conversation about the NCAA tournament. Too bad what his teammate did in response was not also as widely told. (H/T)

The Sage’s Lament – It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of material that is published. Tim Challies (with a little help from Thomas Manton) reminds us of the opportunity that lies therein.

Why Does God Command Us to Serve Him? - “God doesn’t [need] anything.  He doesn’t need our worship, our work or our money.  So why does God command us to worship, serve, and give our money to him?”

How Tim Keller Made Peace With the Wrath of God - “Because if there is no wrath by God on sin, and there is no such thing as Hell, not only does that actually make what happened to Jesus inexplicable—Jesus staggering the way He is, asking God, “Is there any other way?” [and] sweating blood means that He was wimpier than hundreds of His followers, if there was nothing like [God’s wrath]—but…the main thing is, if you don’t believe in the wrath and Hell, it trivializes what He’s done.” (H/T)

9 Things You Should Know About Margaret Thatcher - The Iron Lady died recently. Here are some things you may be surprised to learn, including the fact that she helped develop soft-serve ice cream.

Three More Thoughts - “I fear that younger Christians may not have the stomach for disagreement or the critical mind for careful reasoning. We’re going to need a good dose of the fundamentalist obstinacy that most evangelicals love to lampoon. The challenge before the church is to convince ourselves, as much as anyone, that believing the Bible does not make us bigots, just as reflecting the times does not make us relevant.”

The Amazing Call of Being Mom” - “We don’t need to shed this God-given title of “Mom.” We are called to maximize what it means for the glory of Christ. We can embrace our role without grumbling and with the full assurance of God’s sovereign goodness. God promises that as we shine light into this world (and that includes our kids) we will know that our labor was not in vain (Philippians 2:12–16).”

You Could Give Up, or Do This – “The reality is, God constantly places us in situations that are far beyond our ability to bear. He places us smack dab in the middle of befuddling, perplexing, overwhelming, even crushing circumstances. Why does God do this? To humble us. To make us painfully aware that we cannot make it through this life apart from him. To highlight our desperate dependence on him. God strips us of our own strength to make us totally reliant upon his strength.”

We Hear What We Are Trained To Hear -”According to Jesus, there are two kinds of hearing. This is what Jesus means when he says, ‘If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear’ (Mark 4:23). Jesus calls us beyond recognizing sounds to obeying or responding or discerning the meaning of the sounds.”

Lay Aside Every Weight - “Could it be that you’re not taking this race seriously enough? You can tell by how much extra weight you’re trying to run with.”

The Bottom Line of Christian Ministry - “Every field of life and labor has a bottom line. In business, it is making money, earning profits, and increasing revenue. In education, it is passing tests, making grades, or earning a degree. In sports, it is winning games, awards, and championships. Everything has a bottom line.” So, what is it for ministry?  (H/T)

Running the Race, Looking to the Finisher – “But we do not look sideways to the saints as we run. Our main motivation comes from looking straight ahead at Jesus. He finished the same race of human life. Only he never sinned, and so his race was perfect. When he finished his race, he finished our salvation. So we run, ‘looking to Jesus, the founder and finisher of our faith.’”

The State of the Bible Infographic - This informative picture helps demonstrate people’s perception of the Bible in the US.  (H/T)

How Do You Treat Your Boss? - “Whether or not your boss loves Jesus shouldn’t change your commitment and work ethic. Christians should be the ones leading by example, setting the bar for what it means to work hard and honor the authority placed over you.”

The One-Year Mark - This was a really sweet post about a family who is fostering two little girls. It is a great reminder to all parents to trust our children to the One who holds their future in His hands.

4 Things to Remember During Unwelcome Work – “Glean what you can from the difficult times, because the truths you learn in the valleys keep your feet steady on the mountaintops. There is a time for everything – even unwelcome work. Look for the hidden blessings.”