Links for the Weekend (2025-10-31)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Fear is Not a Sin

Ed Welch writes about fear and our response to it. He emphasizes Jesus’s compassion in caring for those who are fearful.

Fear and grief are part of most every day. We do not apologize for them; we speak them. Then Jesus immediately responds with his most intimate words and promises. Fear and anxiety, in turns out, are first steps to knowing God’s kingly authority over all things and his heart of compassion for you.

Why We Need to Talk About Body Image in Women’s Discipleship

Andrea Lee is a counselor and she write about the importance of addressing body image for women.

When want to change our bodies, it’s because we think it’ll get us something we value. We may want to lose weight so we’re noticed and praised. We may want to have strong, defined muscles so we’re seen as powerful. We want something that we believe a “better” body can get us. It’s not always wrong to seek changes in our bodies, but we need to consider our motivation. The reason we want to change our bodies tells us something about who or what we worship.

Plant in Peace

Our poem of the week: Plant in Peace, by Ashlyn McKayla Ohm. This is a poem meditating on a famous passage in Jeremiah 29.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Never Leaving, Never Forsaking. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Never Leaving, Never Forsaking

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

One of God’s most precious promises comes from Hebrews 13:5.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Like all of God’s promises, this one will greatly repay any time we spend turning it over in our minds and reminding our hearts it is true. (Perhaps it’s worth noting at the beginning that this promise is a negation!)

God’s promise to never leave or forsake his people should be the foundation of lasting contentment. If we have him, we have him forever, and this is a far greater treasure than any amount of money we could possess.

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

When God says he will never leave, this is not a promise to be loyal like a puppy. Rather, God’s promise gives us confidence that he will be our great helper. With God at our side, we need not fear anything, certainly nothing that man can do to us.

Some of us have been hurt by those we know and love. Even more of us have had those dear to us leave. They move away (or we do). We drift apart as friends. Some departures are more dramatic: harsh words, hurt feelings, someone turning and walking away.

God will not abandon us. We cannot offend him so much that he gives us a cold shoulder. By his Spirit, he stays close, always ready to hear, to speak (through his Word), to comfort, to guide, and to protect us.

Better than a Spouse

We take sobering vows when we get married. Most of these vows include a version of “until death do us part.” So even those we love the most will eventually leave. Death is still an enemy, separating life-long companions and friends.

Yet God makes a promise to us that even a spouse cannot. His promise has no asterisk or grave-related exception. When death comes and separates us from all we know and love, God’s promise is still true. He is present, and he won’t leave.

If the Lord does not return before our death, as our body starts to cool we will immediately be with him in spirit. He will not abandon our soul to the grave. And this in-between state will also end. When the world is remade and our body and soul reunite, we will be with the Lord forever. The dwelling place of God will be with man, and we will see him face to face. He will not leave.

This is good, good news! And it can offer you or your friend great comfort in times of grief, pain, and loneliness.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-10-24)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

What is Your Busyness Doing?

Many of us feel too busy. But, as Alan Noble explains, some forms of busyness can have seriously negative spiritual consequences.

It seems to me that busyness is deceptive. It often starts out virtuous, a courageous effort to manage the daily affairs of your life for the sake of your loved ones and to honor God—in the model of the ant. But the rhythms of hustle can overtake you. They can be seductive. There is a numbness that sets in when you are busy. Your mind is preoccupied with obligations and must-do’s and planning for the future so that sins, conflicts, problems, and issues in your life that aren’t directly related to your busyness get submerged, ignored. What started out virtuous seems to take up more and more space in your consciousness. You begin answering emails at all hours of the day. You check your phone constantly. You feel the need to stay “plugged in.” You feel uncomfortable when you aren’t actively doing something “productive.” This is acedia. And it’s tied to the refusal to believe that God is sovereign over all creation.

Who Are the Righteous Mentioned Throughout the Psalms?

Admit it—you’ve wondered who the Psalms are referring to when they mention “the righteous.” Christopher Ash is here to help.

First, we struggle to know what to make of it when psalmists claim to be righteous, sometimes in quite strong terms. For example, the prayer “Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness / and according to the integrity that is in me” (Ps. 7:8) rather alarms us. What if the Lord did judge me according to my righteousness? He would find it severely wanting. Dare I pray this?

In an Artist’s Studio

Our poem of the week: In an Artist’s Studio, by Christina Rossetti. This is a sonnet about an artist and his love/subject.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-10-17)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

We Need To Talk About Jealousy

Andrew Wilson has written a very helpful explanation of the distinction between envy and jealousy. Among other things, this explains why God is legitimately described as jealous!

The point is much sharper when we consider things from God’s perspective. Having taken the Israelites out of Egypt and carried them through the wilderness, how could he greet his people building idols and worshiping foreign gods with anything but fierce jealousy? That is how lovers react when they are betrayed—and the greater the love, the greater the betrayal and the greater the jealousy.

When Community Becomes an Idol

Lauren Cox writes about a time when she was new to an area and without many friends. The Lord taught her a lot about community and idolatry.

Without community, though, I felt more depleted and vulnerable than I had anticipated. I struggled to find joy in my everyday life, which always came naturally to me. My sense of inner security and peace felt shaken. I struggled to resist the enemy’s lies that because I hadn’t made many friends, I was unloved, not enough, or had lost my touch in this season of life. And after weeks and months of this ache, I began to wonder if this was something bigger than simply missing my loved ones in different cities.

How Can I Increase My Love for God’s Word?

Kenneth Berding looks to Psalm 119 for help on how to grow in our love for the Bible.

These are wonderful words! But they also highlight a tension many of us feel. We don’t always feel love for God’s Word. Many of us read it out of duty (which is fine on its own)—and even benefit from our reading—but would really love to increase our love for God’s Word.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Negations of Heaven. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

The Negations of Heaven

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

What will heaven be like? We know only partial answers to this question from the Bible, but this doesn’t stop many from speculating. This is something Christians dearly want to know.

Some of what we know of heaven is stated positively. God will dwell with his people; he will be their God; he will make all things new.

But, curiously, some of what we learn about heaven is stated negatively. Why is that?

I have two main passages in mind. In Revelation 21:4, we learn the following about heaven.

  • God will wipe away every tear.
  • Death will be no more.
  • There will be no more mourning, crying, or pain.
  • The former things will have passed away.

In addition, we read in Revelation 22:3 that there will be nothing cursed in the new creation.

In 1 Peter 1:4, the apostle writes about our inheritance with negative language. We have been born again “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”

Perhaps the reason for this is obvious, but it’s worth saying out loud. The Bible is teaching us what heaven will be like by contrast. Our current life is full of tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain. All of the inheritances we know about perish, get defiled, and fade away. What is heaven like? It is the opposite of all of the cursed parts of our current experience.

From when we’re very young, this is how we learn. We acquire new information by making a bridge from the known to the unknown. We are familiar with pain; we understand physical, emotional, and mental anguish. The new heavens and the new earth will have absolutely none of that.

This short observation is not groundbreaking, but it is an invitation. This week, when you feel the curse of sin scratching its thorns against your shins, or when you feel nearly crushed by the weight of sin and suffering, think of the contrast the Lord has promised you. Look to the future with hope, for one day the earth will be remade and sin will be no more.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-10-10)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Sin Is More Dangerous Than You Think

Here’s an excerpt from a Paul Tripp book, reminding us how dangerous sin is and then giving hope for sinner.

One of the most devastatingly dangerous powers of sin is its ability to deceive. Sin is an evil monster masquerading as your best friend. It is a grim reaper masquerading as a life giver. Sin is darkness masquerading as light. It is foolishness masquerading as wisdom. Sin is disease masquerading as a cure. It is a trap masquerading as a gift.

Are My Motives for Studying the Bible Right?

In this short video (with transcript), Michael Reeves discusses good and bad reasons for studying the Bible.

It is possible to study theology and to study the Bible with a wrong motivation. And we see this in John 5:39, where Jesus speaks to Jewish leaders and Pharisees, and He says, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that you have life in them, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.” And so, it is possible to study the Scriptures and study theology and not come to Jesus for life, but to think that there is life to be had in the mere growth in intellectual knowledge.

Two Stones

Our poem of the week: Two Stones, by Jesse Graves. This is a sobering sonnet about gravestones.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-10-03)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Shatter Your Kid-Centered Kingdom

After moving back to the U.S. as an overseas missionary, Jen Oshman was confronted by the kid-centeredness of many parents (including herself).

Overseas we had few options for the kids’ schooling and activities. We adjusted to that reality, but I confess often skimming Facebook with a twinge of jealousy as I saw my friends’ kids in ballet, piano recitals, sports games, school plays, and summer camps. Now that we were back in the States, I wanted them to have all of those experiences to make up for lost time.

Aileen’s Picks: Books for the Littlest Ones

Tim Challies’ wife Aileen runs the Early Years program at their church. Here are her recommendations of good board books. (This might be helpful for parents, grandparents, or anyone wanting to bless a family with little kids.)

While there are many wonderful children’s classics that certainly have their place, I began to ask why we weren’t being more intentional about the stories we offered. Wouldn’t it be better to fill these early teaching moments with books that reflect God’s truths?

Tractor Sonnet

Our poem of the week: Tractor Sonnet, by Marie Burdett. This is an enjoyable poem about the work of a farmer on a tractor.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called How the Gospel is Dismantling My Critical Spirit. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

How the Gospel is Dismantling My Critical Spirit

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

All Christians have besetting sins—those which recur persistently, fatiguing the most seasoned believers. Most of us survey these well-worn battlefields of temptation and sigh.

I’ve had a critical spirit for ages. It wasn’t until recent years, however, that I realized how much it was affecting my relationships and my ability to worship God.

As I’ve tried to fight against this proud part of myself, I’ve seen that the gospel really is the power of God (Rom 1:16). Where common Christian attitudes toward resisting temptation fall short, the good news of King Jesus gives us all we need.

The Symptoms

Trevin Wax distinguishes between a critical mind and a critical spirit. Those with a critical mind are “incisive, analytical, fair-minded.” Rightly used, this can be a gift to the church. But those with a critical spirit “[delight] in exposing the flaws of others,” and are “quick to judge, dismissive, and proud.”

Though I hate to type it, I recognize myself in these latter descriptions. I try to soothe my conscience by remembering that I am a college professor, trained to be analytical with high standards for my students. But my critical spirit shows up in my personal life far more frequently than at work; that excuse holds no water.

I grumble about the mistakes, flaws, and immaturity of others. This is seldom for their benefit but rather to assert my own superiority. I judge, heaping derision on others in my heart. I congratulate myself on my brilliant insight as I tear my brother down.

The Diagnosis

The critical spirit can sneak onto our porches under the cover of “giving feedback” or “iron sharpening iron” or, maybe at its worst, “discipleship.” But let’s turn on the fluorescent lights and call this what it is: pride.

I cannot speak universally here, so what follows may only be true for me. The standard to which I’m comparing everyone I criticize is—horrors—me. Or, if not me in reality, what I would be if I attempted this observed labor.

They should have known better. (Like I do!) They should have done better. (Like I would have!)

The diagnosis might appear grim, but this is only half of the doctor’s visit. The gospel really is good news, and not just for our initial step into the kingdom of God.

The Treatment

Because the gospel is the way to the Father, it is also the way to holiness. The gospel is how we defeat sin and mortify the flesh. Here is the way this looks for me and my critical spirit.

That flaw I’m spotting in my neighbor? That is not the biggest problem here. (See Matt 7:1–5.) I’m boosting myself as perceptive, wise, and superior, trying to justify myself.

The gospel of Jesus points out the big, ugly lies in my thinking. No amount of insight or skill will make me worthy before God.

My sin is so bad that it required the death of Jesus. How foolish it sounds that I could either add to that or replace it by some smart critique! God is the ultimate judge, not me.

Jesus died for me, but he also rose again. His resurrection means new life for all those in Christ—I have a new heart, and by the Holy Spirit I can love, encourage, pray for, and be thankful for others in ways that I could not in the flesh. I no longer need to be superior to anyone; the way to glory is not the way of self-exaltation, but of serving others. Jesus bids me follow him.

Just as surely as Jesus died and was raised, he also ascended into heaven. He rules the world, with truth and grace. I can look forward to the time when faith will be sight, when my critical spirit will be renewed, and when I will love God and desire the best for all of my neighbors, all the time.

Not There Yet

My real life friends will need to be patient with me. I’m a work in progress. The gospel is dismantling my critical spirit, but the construction ground is not yet clear.

The gospel is not a magic wand to wave, but we’ll make little progress on our besetting sins until we understand how transformation works. The anemic advice I hear from some Christians can often be reduced to: “You’re forgiven; try harder.” The gospel is much better news than that.

I cannot say how this works with your particular sins. But if this resonates with you at all, I would bet there are others in your church who feel the same need to apply the light of the gospel to the shadowy places of their lives.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-09-26)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Rise with the Sun: A New Song with CityAlight

Tim Challies teamed up with CityAlight to write a song connected to his latest book project. This link has the video and the lyrics.

“Rise with the Sun” is meant to call Christians to marvel at the wonder of what God does each Sunday as saints across the world rise and gather together to worship God. As a new day begins, Christians begin a chorus of praise that soon circles the globe until my church and yours join in. “There’s a song that’s sung through the nations,” says this song. And God means for each of us to “Join in the song and sing out his praise.”

When a Holding Pattern is Your Homework Assignment

Laura Patterson writes about anxiety and faith.

I never told my children to eat their tomatoes as a moral issue of right and wrong. Instead, I wanted to use the food on their plates as a training ground to teach them that their preferences, their likes and dislikes, are flexible. I wanted them to learn that they could teach themselves to prefer things they didn’t previously like. This training, I prayed, would be helpful in the future as they tried to line up their affections with the priorities of the kingdom of Christ—a matter of great moral consequence.

The ‘2 Roads’ Approach to Evangelism

Joe Carter writes at The Gospel Coalition about an approach to evangelism that combines the Romans Road presentation with a new method using texts from Ephesians.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that will always work, I want to recommend a framework that presents two powerful evangelistic pathways—the Romans Road and the Ephesians Road—and demonstrates how this combination can work together to create a more complete and compelling gospel presentation.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-09-19)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Struggling to Keep Up in Motherhood? Let the Spirit Set Your Pace.

Aimee Joseph writes about keeping in step with the Spirit when it comes to motherhood.

Make no mistake about it, motherhood has always been a massive job. I love how G. K. Chesterton captured its staggering scope: “A woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute.” While motherhood’s scope hasn’t changed much over time, its pace has. Aided by technology, compelled by memes, and informed by influencers, modern motherhood feels like a frantic race. The amount of things a mom and her family are expected to do in a day, a week, or a year make our days so full that I’ve often had to double my desired pace to barely keep up.

4 Ways the Church Helps You in the Fight for Purity

It’s all too easy to think that one needs to battle for sexual purity by themselves. Garrett Kell points us to the church for help.

God gives the church to help you resist temptation and draw you in a better direction, toward a better country. Our journey of faith is marked by the joyful assurance that God is with us and that soon we shall be with him. But this journey cannot be made alone; we make it together. You need other Christians, and they need you. Consider how God wants to use the fellowship of a church to help you fight sexual sin and endure in faith.

How is God Unchanging?

This is a short video from Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte on the topic of God’s unchangeableness, featuring Dr. Blair Smith.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called How Short, O Lord? If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.