nawinter.com

Kindle Deal – True Community by Bridges – Amazon’s offering True Community by Jerry Bridges in the Kindle edition for free. I haven’t read it, but if you have, let me know what you think.

Is My Wife’s Job Harder Than Mine? – Tim Challies tackles this question, makes some interesting observations, and draws what I think is a well-considered conclusion regarding the benefits (or lack thereof) of comparison.

Sports in the Age to Come – This is an article that my husband, as well as probably many other sports fans, would enjoy reading.

When “Nowhere to Hide” is  a Good Thing – “…when we are reconciled to God through his Son Jesus Christ, the nearness of God is our good (Ps. 73:28). Knowledge of his omnipresence and omniscience bring us deep comfort because we know that we didn’t love him first, but he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).”

Singing Like Men – “Giving more emotion and enthusiasm to athletes than to God is wrong. And I’m just as guilty as the rest. God is infinitely worthy of our shouts, smiles, cheers, lifted hands, applause, and delight. He is worthy because of who he is. He is God. The infinite, almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent, good, gracious, glorious, holy, just, righteous, full of mercy God. There is no one like him. He outshines a million suns and makes the angels tremble. Real men worship God because of who he is.”

I Want to Die in the Trench – “The local church is the front line of ministry. In the battle against the spiritual forces of evil, the church is the trench. Christ’s bride is dug in, charged up, and ready to die for the freedom of souls. I relish the trench. It’s messy, at times gruesome, and the noise makes it difficult to sleep. But I love it.”

How Can We Pray for You? – As you may know, R.C. Sproul Jr.’s wife and daughter died recently. He answers the question of how we might be praying for him, and in doing so, I believe he offers some unique perspectives on how we might pray for others we know are suffering.

“I am the Lord; that is my name;

my glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to carved idols.”

 – Isaiah 42:8

We are so often the recipients of God’s mercy and grace that sometimes we struggle with remembering that God is also jealous God – a God who is unwilling to share the glory that is due to Him with anything else. When hearing this, some may be tempted to think it’s arrogant – as if God has no right to demand that He alone deserves honor and praise. However, God knows that when we ascribe the glory due Him to some lesser thing, we are worshipping a false god; we are putting our confidence and hope in something that will not satisfy our deepest longings and can not meet our deepest needs. His unwillingness to share the glory due to Him does not just serve His renown – it is for our benefit as well. If He were willing to partition the praises He is due, to accept only some of our worship and adoration – He would not be the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-sufficient God that Scripture says He is. He is worthy of all praise, and as it is given Him, His creation fulfills its purpose.

If God is not willing to share His glory with anything else, we should not be found giving glory to any lesser thing. Nothing should be honored, esteemed or delighted in above the Lord. He should be our “all in all.” To Him alone should be glory and praise, and in Him alone should be our satisfaction and strength.