I wonder: have I made a god out of productivity?
Books I Read in April 2018
April is always a slow reading month for me. I'm not a big TV-watcher. But when April rolls around, we get into what I consider to be the best TV time of the year: Major League Baseball opens their season and the NBA and NHL playoffs kick off. I LOVE all of these. So I stay up later than I should. I wake up later than I'd like. And I read less than just about any other month of the year.
But that doesn't mean I didn't read anything. I still managed to get through 7 books, and I nearly finished an 8th. Below is what I read this month.
When Your Son Needs Fatherly Approval
I had no idea the whole night was a test of my approval. Andy believed he passed. He did. But he was the only one testing. He had my approval all along.
Saved by Grace Through Faith
Your sin can’t kick you out of God’s love because your righteousness never put you in it. God saves by grace through faith. It’s a gift. All you must do is receive it.
What Jesus Meant About the Lost Sheep
Jesus was the smartest man to ever walk this earth. He’s still the smartest man alive. So much of his recorded teachings have far more Old Testament allusions than we modern Gentile readers can fathom. As we were studying the account of David and Goliath in our Bible study at church, I saw David’s words in 1 Samuel 17:34 with new eyes. There’s more than a hint of Jesus there, and Jesus knew it.
Books I Read in March 2018
It's hard to believe we're already a quarter of the way through 2018. Time goes incredibly fast. Good books help us make it along the way.
Here's what I read in March 2018.
The Bible's Call to Imitate the Prostitute
Imitate the prostitute is not a familiar cry. But the Bible is not an ordinary book. Christianity is not a run-of-the-mill religion. The claims of Christ are sweeping, gathering up prostitute and eunuch alike. Only the God whose power to save the worst of sinners can use those sinners as examples for the faithful. God’s ways are not our ways, and his call to us is as broad and deep as his saving of us.
The Seeds of the Worst Deeds Are In Your Heart
David’s sin didn’t start with Bathsheba in his bed. David’s sin started with Bathsheba in his mind. David should have nipped it in the bud. Instead, he let it flower, growing with anticipation as he awaited Bathsheba’s arrival. If ever there was an abuse of power, David was the abuser, Bathsheba was the victim. After all, who refuses the king?
Dying to Racism, Living to God
Remember Galatians 2:11-14, when Paul opposed Peter to his face. Why did Paul oppose him? When certain Jews came from Jerusalem, Peter withdrew from eating with the Gentiles to eat with the Jews. Peter, who knew the gospel, stepped outside the gospel with his racism. Paul rightly saw this as an anti-gospel move and called Peter out on it. Peter’s racism wasn’t a private problem, it was a public heresy.
How Far Does God's Grace Go?
Jesus was asking them a simple question: how far does God’s grace go? How far does his love stretch? How deep does it plunge? To the worst sinner? To the deepest depravity? To the best Pharisee? To the smartest scribe?