Here are some good reads collected over this past week…
On prayer: “Why Paul’s Prayers Startle Us” by D.A. Carson http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-pauls-prayers-startle-us
Paul was constantly on the lookout for signs of God’s saving, transforming, and equipping work in the lives of believers. The apostle labored tirelessly, proclaiming the gospel in new places and instructing converts in the Christian faith. He endured threats, persecutions, imprisonments, and various setbacks that would tempt most people to give up and find a safer, more fulfilling nine-to-five. What kept Paul going through such adversities and disappointments? Paul recognized specific ways God was at work, and he responded with thanksgiving.
On how our perspective can color reality: “Absolute Truth in an Upside Down World” by New Orleans Saints Tight End Benjamin Watson http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/absolute-truth-in-an-upside-down-world
Whether we realize it or not, we all end up at times on our backs staring at the sky screaming, Water! In our family, political, occupational, and even spiritual lives, we make decisions and take stances based on bad theology, personal benefit, political correctness, or simple convenience. We think the right thing to do is whatever the majority thinks at the time. Like a ship without a sail, we are tossed back and forth by the prevailing trends and stances of our cultural leaders, anchorless in a storm of popular opinion.
On seeing work as God-honoring and redemptive: “Say Goodbye to Lifeboat Theology” by Tom Nelson http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/say-goodbye-to-lifeboat-theology
If we are going to do God-honoring work, if we are going to be a faithful presence in our workplaces, then we must grasp in a compelling way that our present work fits into the future that awaits us. So often I hear from well-meaning people in the marketplace that their daily work seems so boring or to be such a waste of time. I am not minimizing the seemingly inefficient and mundane aspects that can be part of our work. Every job has a host of tasks that don’t really excite us or unleash our creative energies. But if we will look at our work through the lens of Holy Scripture, our work, no matter what we have been called to do, is imbued with great meaning and significance.
24 FREE ebooks from desiringgod.org: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/24-free-ebooks-for-you
