Some helpful articles from the last week:
- Kevin DeYoung gives us something to think about: “I’ve learned over the years that the simplest way to judge gray areas in the Christian life like movies, television, and music is to ask one simple question: can I thank God for this?…”
- John Piper wrote a teenager about finding his “identity.” His counsel is wise for teenagers and used-to-be teenagers: “I think the key for me was finding help in the Apostle Paul and C. S. Lewis and my father, all of whom seemed incredibly healthy, precisely because they were so absolutely amazed at everything but themselves. They showed me that the highest mental health is not liking myself but being joyfully interested in everything but myself.”
- Sam Crabtree “was recently asked by a man who was a member of an employee union what I thought he should do about an invitation to leave the union and join the management where he worked.” His response included information that is useful not only for making decisions about a job promotion, but for making any kind of decision.
- There is much confusion about sanctification and the relationship between justification and sanctification. Kevin DeYoung has written a thought-provoking article, “Gospel-Driven Effort” to address this topic in part (he’s also working on a book on sanctification, which I will look forward to reading): “Growing in godliness is a fight of faith–a fight to believe the truth about our justification, our adoption, a fight to believe all that God says about us by virtue of our union with Christ. But growing in godliness is more than trusting; it is also trusting enough to obey.…Remember the gospel indicatives. Then give full throat to the gospel imperatives.”
- John Piper interviews John Knight on the topic of disability. These are videos worth watching (and Knight’s blog is worth reading regularly).
Words of Grace 