Here is a collection of good reads gathered recently from across the internet. Enjoy!
On the Christian being the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit: What a Wonder! by Tim Challies
You, Christian, are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God makes his habitation within you. He has joyfully, willingly, come to you so you can be near to him. This knowledge, this wonder, has powerful consequences.
It gives assurance. If the Holy Spirit has made his home within you, you can be sure that he will never abandon you. Who or what could ever drive God out of his dwelling place? Is Satan powerful enough to displace the Spirit? Of course not. Is your sin or your desire to sin or your unbelief enough to drive him out once he has come in? Never! Knowing that you have the Spirit within allows you to live free from the terror of abandonment, free from the fear that God will give up on you. God has not only chosen to do something to you from without but has also chosen to take up residence within. (click here to read more)
On busyness and Bible reading (note: this post was directed toward moms, but there’s good advice for everyone): How a Busy Mom Can Stay Consistent in the Word by Courtney Reissig
We all have different capacities and we all go through different seasons of life. Maybe you are a mom with young children. You’re not going to be able to go back to your times of reading the Word for an hour or two hours, having an uninterrupted devotional time. So you must have realistic expectations for yourself going into motherhood. Maybe for you that’s saying, “I’m only going to get ten or fifteen minutes in.” Or, “I’m okay with the disruptions as I read.” Be realistic. Realistic expectations will help you not feel so defeated when your plan goes awry. (click here to read more)
On relationships and “soul mates”: Searching for a Soul Mate by J. Alan Branch
To expect another fallen human to “make us whole” is to commit an idolatrous act, placing a created being before the Creator. Only Jesus Christ can offer us genuine wholeness. Christ’s mission was to make provision for the redemption of men from sin. Colossians 1:22 says, “But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.” God’s desire is to make us whole by making us holy. Likewise, when Christians are looking for a spouse, our primary goal should be to seek someone who shares a desire for holiness. (click here to read more)
On the value of boredom: I’m Never Bored and I Think it Might Be Killing Me by Stephen Altrogge
Now I’m literally never bored. It’s actually kind of pathetic. If I have more than 3 seconds of free time, I’ x m on my phone, scoping out Facebook, reading headlines on ESPN, comparing my life to other people’s on Instagram. I am SUBSCRIBED TO 28 PODCASTS (even I can see that’s ridiculous). Between Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and the cable login I “borrow” from my friend, I have 343 years of television to catch up on. Because I have the impulse control skills of a small circus monkey, I am constantly purchasing $2.99 books for my Kindle, not because I’ll read them but because, honestly, who can pass up such a deal?
Lately, I’ve been increasingly concerned about my lack of boredom. (click here to read more)
First Baptist Church 