Here is a collection of good reads gathered from across the internet this past week. Enjoy!
On the church and our struggles in life: Brother, I Wish I Would Have Known by Russell Meek
I never told anyone about my addiction. I went to class, talked about Jesus, attended church—all the things seminary students are supposed to do. And no one was ever the wiser, at least not to my knowledge. I often wondered when God was going to kill me for making such a mockery of his name. But instead of that, he woke me up one morning with a life-changing thought. (click here to read more)
On our identity and our pain: You Are Not Your Pain by Kaitlin Miller
You may have had a friend desert you, but you are not deserted. You may have had a spouse abandon you, but you are not abandoned. You may have failed, but you are not a failure. You may have never known your father, but you are not fatherless. Life may be crushing, but you are not crushed.
The only way to take back our true, God-given identity, with unshakable confidence, is to look to the One who gives us our identity in the first place. (click here to read more)
And two about Easter and the resurrection:
Nine Glorious Things the Resurrection Means by Stephen Altrogge
The Resurrection Means The Penalty For Sin Has Been Paid
The wages of sin is death. Those who love wickedness must face the just consequences of their choice. Our rightly deserved punishment is both spiritual and physical death. When Jesus rose from the dead, it demonstrated that the penalty for sin – death – had been satisfied. Nothing else was needed, the price was paid, all had been accomplished. (click here to read more)
Radical Effects of the Resurrection by John Piper
I mean, be a Christian and you’ll get your act together. Be a Christian and life will come together. It will go better for you. That’s generally the way I think we talk, we evangelize. So what’s wrong with the Apostle Paul? What’s wrong with him? If there is no resurrection, in other words, if this is it, if this is it, we’re fools. What are we doing, living like we’re living? We are of all men most to be pitied. What is wrong with Paul? Why does he say things like that? It’s not a good sell for Christianity. His answer, I believe, is that, for Paul, for the Apostle following in the steps of his Master, the Christian life was a life of freely chosen risk and suffering in the cause of love for other people in great need. (click here to read more)
First Baptist Church 