Parenting

Saturday Sampler: December 3 — December 8

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Bell SamplerAfter resolving to be truthful with your children about Santa Claus, you still face the sticky issue of what they tell their little friends. Michelle Lesley tackles that awkward dilemma in The Mailbag: My kid knows the truth about Santa. What if he tells his friends who don’t? Michelle puts forth some thought-provoking arguments that maybe we need as we navigate this question.

Biblical Sexuality Isn’t a Stump You Can Mow Around insists Mike Leake in a blog post for Borrowed Light. He looks at reasons we’re tempted to compromise our position on homosexuality, and explains why we mustn’t compromise.

Mike Ratliff of Possessing the Treasure reminds us of The Cross and its offense. Although it should be Christianity 101, most evangelicals seem willfully oblivious to this basic part of the Gospel.

Forgiveness doesn’t come easily when people hurt us. Writing for The Cripplegate, Eric Davis challenges our tendency to hang onto offences with Love & Hurt Feelings — Refresher. This isn’t exactly a “feel good” article, I realize, but it brings us back to a basic principle of Christianity.

The current focus on homosexuality and transgenderism somewhat obscures the seriousness of sexual sins among heterosexuals. SlimJim of The Domain for Truth goes back to fundamental Christian teaching on sexual purity by posting Pre-Marital Abstinence Makes the Married Heart Grow Stronger. Sadly, I think many professing Christians have forgotten the importance of waiting until the wedding night.

I couldn’t agree more with Don’t Be Just Another Fan by Leslie A in Growing 4 Life. Her insightful article leads me to ask you to always evaluate each blog post I write in light of Scripture.

In his moving piece, Planned Parenthood Sings Hush, Little Baby, Samuel Sey objects to the notion that abortion is best for unwanted babies. Appearing in his blog, Slow to Write, this article traces the experiences of two unplanned pregnancies that were in God’s plan all along.

Elizabeth Prata’s essay, Love Thy Neighbor? That’s only half of it, refutes the growing idea that love means ignoring sin in another person. You’ll find her insightful piece in The End Time.

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Saturday Sampler: November 4 — November 10

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Flower Outline Sampler

What causes so much compromise in the church? Mike Ratliff raises the possibility that much of it results from a disdain for God’s Word. His article, Bible Inspiration, appears in Possessing the Treasure as an encouragement to remember the very Source of Scripture.

Have you ever tried to understand God’s holiness? As Allen S. Nelson IV shows us in his post for Things Above Us, Comprehending Holiness is a daunting and wonderful duty for all believers.

Reformation 21 runs The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel Explained: Sexuality and Marriage by James White. In our social climate, his common sense is sadly lacking as well as necessary.

I’m not a parent, and I’m only an honorary grandmother, but I have definite beliefs about child rearing. So I appreciate Denny Burk for his Biblical response in his post, Pediatricians say spanking is bad. Are they right? Remember, the world opposes God on every level.

Sinclair Ferguson examines Apostasy and How it Happens on the Ligonier blog. Having watched many of my friends turn away from the Lord over the years, I find this article quite helpful in understanding their actions.

Do you know what I admire about Michelle Lesley? She bases her reasoning squarely on Scripture. Throwback Thursday: Can a False Teacher be Saved? is a splendid example of drawing conclusions through the study of God’s Word.

Who Is Jesus? Leslie A of Growing 4 Life distinguishes between the popular conception of Jesus and what the Bible actually teaches about Him.

Some missionaries I know often email me requesting that I pray for Jesus to reveal Himself to Muslims in their area through dreams. I absolutely refuse to do so, of course, but I couldn’t figure out why Muslims seem to have these dreams. Praise God for Elizabeth Prata’s essay Blasphemy: Jesus is not Isa, Isa is not Jesus in The End Time. Elizabeth explains this disturbing phenomenon well, showing why Christians should never celebrate it.

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Saturday Sampler: October 21 — October 27

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Saturday Sampler graphic

Most evangelicals I know don’t seem to understand the significance of Reformation Day (October 31). Praise God for Michelle Lesley, who explains its importance in The Mailbag: What is Reformation Day? Please don’t ignore this blog post. And don’t ignore the Reformation.

Women like being in control. But, as Jessica Pigg writes in Biblical Woman, we need to make sure we’re Building for Eternity rather than for ourselves.

What does it mean to glorify God? Over on The Cripplegate, Jordan Standridge answers that question with three challenging examples. You might be surprised and intrigued by what he has to say.

Praise God for John Divito’s marvelous article, Living the Cessationist Life, written for Founders Ministry! As a former Charismatic who loves the Holy Spirit, I wish all my Charismatic friends understood these things about Him.

Maybe Leslie A’s When It’s Time to Reap hits home for me because I turned 65 last month.  But it sure wouldn’t hurt younger women to consider the Biblical wisdom she dispenses. Her Growing 4 Life blog features many helpful posts on how to live in ways that honor the Lord.

I’ve written a lot this week about the importance of thinking critically and Biblically. By writing The Brains God Gave You, SharaC of Into the Foolishness of God encourages me that I’m not alone in seeing the need for Christians to evaluate things more thoroughly.

Living in the Greater Boston Area has familiarized me with the name of Anne Hutchinson, and I knew her theology was less than Blblical. But Elizabeth Prata really enriches our understanding of the damage a rebellious woman can do in Puritan Wives: Anne Hutchinson – Screeching usurper, or passionate devotee? And if you’re tempted to think an essay about a 17th Century New England woman has no relevance to current Christian controversies, remember that Elizabeth calls her blog The End Time for a reason. Who does Anne Hutchinson remind you of?

Go to The Domain for Truth to read SlimJim’s excellent article, Physical Beauty without Good Works is Dead. If you’re a single gal, read this as an encouragement. If you’re a mom to teenage or college age boys, have them read it. Several times. Until it oozes out of their pores! Did I mention it’s an excellent article?

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The Vision That Really Matters

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What’s your vision for your life? You’re supposed to answer that Jesus Himself is your vision. I’m supposed to give the same answer.

Often, however, lesser visions obscure Him. We focus on our husbands, our children, our career goals and even church responsibilities. And, in many respects, the Lord would have us pay careful attention  to those areas of life.

The balance comes when we see each of those areas as platforms to honor Christ. We look for ways to be godly wives and mothers. We desire to serve Him in our jobs and at church. All those roles should strengthen our vision of Him, helping us love Him more fully. In truth, He must be our vision.

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Saturday Sampler: August 26 — September 1

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Vintage Tulip

I love Elizabeth Prata for many reasons. In particular, I love her boldness to speak unpopular truths in her blog, The End Time. Her essay, Shout Your Abortion, and John Owen on infanticide, offers no apology for unmasking the basic brutality behind the willful termination of a pregnancy.

Equally outspoken, Leslie A of Growing 4 Life answers the question, What Does the Bible Say About…(Being Relevant)? We should carefully consider the Scriptural arguments she makes.

Ancient Church 01Clint Archer, writing for The Cripplegate, examines Charismatic and mystical experiences in his pithy piece, Are claims of supernatural experience really that harmful (in 500 words)? You need to read this one!

Plucking Forbidden Fruit by  SharaC appears in Into the Foolishness of God with an interesting observation for control freaks.

The Christian Counseling & Educational Foundations blog includes Is Reading the Bible a Chore or a Delight? by Steve Midgley. You’ll appreciate his practical solution for making your time in God’s Word more enjoyable and fruitful, I think.

If you’d like to see an interesting perspective on developing ethnic diversity in local Little Girl Welcoming Advanced Maskchurches, look no further than The Domain for Truth, where SlimJim writes Ethnic Churches: A More Better Way than Bashing Them. I can’t remember when I’ve read an article this fascinating and thought-provoking! Even better, SlimJim writes as a pastor of an ethnic church.

Reading Michelle Lesley isn’t always safe. The Holy Spirit often uses her writing to convict me. See if her post, Wise to the Ways of the Worldly: 4 Ways Worldliness Sneaks In, and the Scriptures to Slay It doesn’t expose something in you. Dolly's portraitThat’s okay — conviction is a good thing!

In his article for Pyromaniacs, Colin L. Eakin underscores the importance of discernment. Sheep, or Wolf? A Call to Discern explores reasons that evangelicals fail to exercise discernment and suggests ways that we can cultivate this necessary skill.

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Saturday Sampler: August 5 — August 11

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Ryan Higginbottom of Knowable Word helps us Overcome Common Excuses for Not Studying the Bible. I needed this little kick in the pants. Do you?Victoria Painting

Have you ever been called a judgmental hypocrite for contending for the faith? I have. Recently, in fact! So I appreciate The Natural Man, the visible Church, and telling the truth by Mike Ratliff of Possessing the Treasure. If you need encouragement to stand on  God’s Word, this is your article.

It doesn’t matter if someone we witness to claims to reject the Bible’s authority. God’s Word continues to be the means that the Holy Spirit uses to give people saving faith. In keeping with that truth, Jordan Standridge’s latest item in The Cripplegate shows us 3 Bible Passages to Study with Unbelievers that could help us in our evangelism efforts. As usual, Standridge writes with a Scriptural clarity that we desperately need.

It’s been a while since Lisa Morris has written on Conforming to the Truth, but she’s Michele Smithback!  Her study, Patience The Heart The Tongue and Our Love instructs us in applying the fruit of patience. I like her practical approach to this discipline. Welcome back, Lisa!

Douglas Wilson has been writing a chapter-by-chapter review of Aimee Byrd’s disturbing book, Why Can’t We Be Friends? on his blog, Blog & Mablog. I don’t want to feature each post in his series on Saturday Sampler, but Gaaa! Jezebel! definitely deserves attention. Of particular note is his reference to the Revoice Conference. The comparison between Aimee’s book and the conference had never occurred to me, but it really makes a lot of sense!

If you’re a mom sending your child off to college this month, warn your child to be careful about campus fellowship groups. Garrett O’Hara, in his contribution to Things Above Us, writes Extrabiblical Revelation: Being Chained to the Ocean Floor as an example of mysticism creeping into even non-Charismatic organizations at colleges and betty-portrait-painteduniversities.

In Getting “Unhitched” from the Old Testament? Andy Stanley Aims at Heresy, Albert Mohler evaluates Stanley’s latest controversial remarks through both Scripture and church history. This blog post underscores the important role of church history in exercising discernment concerning current problems in evangelical circles.

Responding to a question from a reader, C.T. Adams writes Question 34: How does one judge the fruits of others without being judgmental? in Faith Contender. This one might sting a little, just as any good antiseptic should, but it’s wonderfully cleansing. If you do any level of discernment ministry, I encourage you to Kristy Culverhouseconsider the admonition in this piece.

Feminism makes demands. Women want power that creates equality with men, evidently. Blogging in The End Time, Elizabeth Prata offers thoughts On empowerment from a Biblical perspective.

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Saturday Sampler: July 22 — July 28

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3D Beads Sampler

I didn’t read Douglas Wilson’s The Facebook Penalty Box until after I published last week’s edition of Saturday Sampler, but his faithfulness to preserve Robert Gagnon’s banned Facebook post responding to the Revoice conference deserves attention. For several reasons. Wilson blogs at Blog & Mablog.

You’ve heard me say countless times that context is essential to interpreting the Bible. If you want more evidence that context makes a difference, read Do Children Need to Take Care of Their Parents? OR Another Reason Context Is Important by Mike Leake of Borrowed Light. You might even learn something about First Century Roman culture.

Hohn Cho, writing for Pyromaniacs, issues Convictions of the “Social” Justice Movement and Responses Thereto. Though this isn’t exactly light reading, it gives us a handle on this movement’s main tenants and examines those tenants through the lens of Scripture.

Reflecting on the life of a woman who greatly influenced her, Erin Benziger writes A Life Exhausted for Jesus in Do Not Be Surprised.

On her blog, The End Time, Elizabeth Prata reminds us that Taming the Tongue on Social Media is a responsibility that Christians must take seriously.  She offers an interesting perspective on silence that we typically overlook in discussions on this matter. Her essay deserves attention just for that.

We’ve all asked Where Do People Who Never Hear of Jesus Go When They Die? In his weekly contribution to The Cripplegate, Jordan Standridge answers this question from Scripture and then explains our responsibility to evangelize all nations.

Inevitably, most Christians find something about God that, to be honest, we just don’t like. Addressing that reality in his blog post for Things Above Us, Michael Coughlan writes When the Honeymoon is Over to both confront and encourage us. His observations deserve consideration.

What Is The Greatest Motivation In Your Life? asks Carol Ann Kiker in her Biblical Woman blog post. Her application of principles in Colossians 3 to various aspects of daily life is practical and honoring to the Lord.

Giving us a birds eye view of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, Peter Krol writes Context Matters: You Have Heard That it was Said…But I Say to You in Knowable Word. If the current chatter about laying aside the Old Testament intrigues you, I beg  you to read this study and consider how Jesus regarded it.

Sometimes I believe Michelle Lesley and I lead parallel lives. At least spiritually. I nodded in knowing agreement as I read When God Answers the “Wrong” Prayer. Michelle models how godly women should pray, but also how to respond when God answers the one prayer that our flesh secretly hopes He doesn’t hear.

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