Links for the Weekend (2025-05-02)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Ever-Present Search for an Easy Christian Faith

Does anything about the Christian faith make you uncomfortable? Trevin Wax proposes that should probably be true in some area of your life.

We should test ourselves. Do we pledge our allegiance to God as he truly is, or do we settle for fashioning a god of our own imagination? Are we shaving off the rough edges of his revelation to suit our preferences? Or are we willing to submit to what he says about himself—even when we don’t understand (or don’t want to)?

The Problem With Habits (and Why We Still Need Them)

Darryl Dash has a good perspective on habits (and a good analogy for them too). He writes: “habits alone cannot transform us, yet we cannot grow without them.”

God has established means of grace. They’re ways through which he promises to work in our lives. When we seek him through Scripture, our hearts are changed. The transformative power lies not in our routine of Bible reading, but in the living word itself. God’s Spirit actively works through his word. God’s word has the power to change our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The same applies to prayer. God promises that those who seek him will find him (Matthew 7:7-8). The power isn’t in habits; habits just get us to God’s means of grace.

In Waiting

Our poem of the week: In Waiting, by Joshua Fullman. This is a poem about visiting a loved one in the hospital.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called 3 Essential Ingredients for Understanding the Bible. 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. 

3 Essential Ingredients for Understanding the Bible

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

It’s not popular these days. So many people are counting carbs and dodging gluten. But it’s true: I love bread.

Bread is one of God’s great gifts—a gift so great that even someone with my paltry cooking skills can throw together a passable loaf.

While there are thousands of variations, the core bread recipe is remarkably simple: flour, water, yeast, and salt. That’s it.

Experts can punch up the flavor with add-ins and fancy baking techniques, but those four ingredients are essential. Without them, you might whip up something delicious, but you don’t have bread.

It’s the same way with understanding the Bible. There are a few essential elements that must be present if we’re to learn from God’s word.

The Bible

This may be obvious, but it must be said. In order to understand the Bible, we need to actually read the Bible!

We don’t need to be Hebrew or Greek scholars. God has been generous in providing plenty of quality English translations. And for most of us, these translations are easy to access.

But we do need the actual words of the Bible. Not study notes or a friendly devotional or a commentary. Not at first. We need time to read, hear, and meditate on the words of God.

The Bible is meant for Christians to read and understand. God is not trying to hide its meaning from you. You are smart enough to read and study the Bible.

Humility

If we aim to understand the Bible, we must approach it with humility.

What is true in our personal relationships is also true in our approach to the Scriptures—in order to learn, we must be convinced that we have things to learn! When we draw near to the Bible, we are submitting to an authority. We approach the bench in handcuffs, we do not bang the gavel. The posture of the Christian disciple must be one of open hands, bowed head, well-worn knees.

As we meet with God in his word, we acknowledge that we are naive and foolish. Ignorant and forgetful. Frail. Incomplete in our understanding.

But God is wise. He is experienced. All-knowing. Never forgetting. Strong. On top of all that, he loves to communicate about himself and his world through his word.

When we call the Bible “God’s word,” this is not just a synonym. This is a reassuring, bulls eye-accurate description. We must come humbly to the Bible because the God of the universe stands behind these words.

The Holy Spirit

Finally, we need help to understand the Bible. This is help that God loves to give, but we cannot understand the Bible on our own.

God helps us grasp the Bible by coming to us himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit’s work and power to give us both insight and the gift of repentance.

The Holy Spirit is described as our helper and teacher (John 14:26). Paul writes that we have received the Spirit of God “that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12), and that, because of the Spirit, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Pray and ask for his help as you read the Bible.

More to Say

There is more to say about studying the Bible, of course. (This website is devoted to saying more about studying the Bible.) But this article is about the essentials.

Remember this the next time you seek out God in the Scriptures. Read the Bible. Approach with humility. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help. And God will give you hearty, nourishing, sustaining food that will bring deep satisfaction to your soul.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-04-25)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

He Cares for Us

Paul Levy reflects on both caring for others and being cared for by others. He connects both to God’s care for us.

We care for those things and people that are precious to us, and God cares for us because we are precious to Him in His Son. So cast your cares and your worries on Him, because He cares for you.

The Themes of Exile and Return Are Seen Throughout the Psalms

This Crossway article explains how the structure of the book of Psalms helps us to see some of its themes emerge.

Gerald Wilson has argued that the psalms that begin and end each book serve as thematic “seams” that stitch the otherwise diverse psalms together. Thus a discernable pattern emerges that matches the narratological flow of the entire Old Testament, emphasizing exile and hope for return. The definitive turning points are the rise of David, crowning of Solomon, descent into exile, and rising of Israel out of exile into a new creation.

Two Poems

I have two poems to offer you this week.

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 (2025-04-18)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Resurrection Déjà Vu

Here’s a reminder (including lots of links) about the evidence for Jesus’s resurrection. The Christian faith is built on historical facts, and despite claims to the contrary, there are plenty of good reasons to believe those facts. (You can read or listen to this article.)

Good News! God Hates Sin.

Yes, God hates sin. But it’s important for us to understand the reasons why, because there’s good news in there!

This is why we must do better at explaining why God hates sin. It’s not enough to say sin is bad. We must show how sin is a parasite, feeding on the good and beautiful things God has made, warping our affections, deceiving our hearts, and leading to destruction. Sin is what keeps us from the God we were made for. Sins are like spiders that must be stomped.

Overcoming Discouragement

A number of CCEF counselors discussed discouragement on a podcast episode recently. They talked about why having language about the feeling of discouragement is important, along with how to overcome discouragement. (For those not into podcasts, a transcript is also posted.)

Thanks to Cliff L for his help in rounding up links this week!

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 (2025-04-11)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Prayer Is and Should Be Trinitarian

The doctrine (and reality) of the Trinity should affect every aspect of our lives, including the way we pray.

After decades of reading the Bible, following Jesus Christ, and participating in countless worship services, I am more convinced than ever that prayer is and should be Trinitarian. Of course, this doesn’t mean that every single prayer must reference the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But for prayer to be truly Christian, it must consistently bear witness to the three-in-one.

Navigating the Challenges of Motherhood with Grace

Christina Fox looks at three mothers in the Bible to remind us that God meets us and provides grace in our need.

When I first embarked on this journey, I felt overwhelmed by all that I did not know. I felt inadequate in the face of so much that was new and unknown. I lacked wisdom for challenging parenting decisions and feared not getting them right. Since then, I’ve encountered many difficult circumstances in my motherhood and anticipate more to come. Yet, I can look back and see God’s grace at work and His faithfulness to meet me in all my troubles.

Lenten Sonnet XXVI

Our poem of the week: Lenten Sonnet XXVI, 2025, by Andrew Peterson. There are actually two sonnets at that link, and they’re both good, but I’d recommend the first if you only have time for one.

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 (2025-04-04)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Combat Anxiety Through Surrender

I appreciated this reminder from Tim Challies about what the Bible calls us to when we’re anxious and feeling out of control: surrendering ourselves to God.

One of the lessons I have learned through life’s greatest difficulties is there is far more comfort in surrender than control. The reason is obvious: Surrender is within our power while control is not. We have the ability to surrender ourselves to God and his purposes, but we do not have the ability to control God and his purposes.

It’s Never Too Late to Learn How to Pray

This post draws instruction from the way that Tim Keller didn’t really learn to pray until in his 50s.

The applicational impact of Jesus’s example is hard to miss. If Jesus needed to pray under these circumstances, how much more do I? And yet, after twenty-three years as a Christian and nearly twelve as a pastor, I must admit that I’m still learning to pray. Judging by my conversations with other Christians, I’m not alone in that sentiment. Prayer is perhaps the most challenging component of the Christian life, and the distractions of our digital age only compound the difficulty.

Lenten Sonnet XX

Our poem of the week: Lenten Sonnet XX, by Andrew Peterson. This reflection on 1 John 1:5 is a poem about light.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Don’t Drift Away From the Bible. 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. 

Don’t Drift Away From the Bible

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Most people don’t set out to gain fifteen pounds. Instead, their diet changes over time. Candy and ice cream take the place of fruits and vegetables, and the numbers on the scale creep northward.

It happens over weeks, not days. And unless a person is taking measurements, visiting the doctor, or talking with friends about their habits, they might not even notice.

The same drift that happens with diet can happen with Bible intake. And both types of drift can leave us in an unhealthy place.

The Terrible Drift

Those with a commitment to God and his word don’t intend to drift away. But without an anchor, they get caught in the river’s current. They enjoy the breeze, not realizing they’re headed for the danger of a waterfall.

People that drift away from the Bible aren’t that different from you and me. They belong to churches. They have a history of practicing spiritual disciplines. But maybe they’re busy. Their priorities subtly shift. They develop other habits, even good habits like exercise or time with friends. And one day they realize they haven’t read the Bible in six months.

They don’t feel like they’ve forgotten the gospel, but the truth of the Bible is no longer at the front of their thinking. The glory of God is no longer the lens through which they see and interpret life. This leads to a person increasingly turned inward and focused on their own earthly happiness. Externally, they may be pleasant and kind, but their soul is in danger. Blatant, external sins often begin with the erosion of personal communion with God.

Guard Against Drift

While it may seem unthinkable to walk away from God, we have plenty of examples in the Bible (Hebrews 6:1–8, John 6:60–71, 2 Peter 2:17–22). Each Christian likely has a story of a friend or acquaintance who was once near to Jesus and is now in a distant land.

A drift from God often begins with a drift from his word. So, how do we guard against this drift?

  1. Make Bible intake a habit. Humans are prone to selfishness and forgetfulness. This is why we read and re-read the Bible. We need to study it, memorize it, hear it, sing it, and meditate on it. We cling to all reminders of the truth—to see ourselves, the world, and God aright. We cannot find this perspective within ourselves.
  2. Talk deeply and honestly with friends who share your values. We all need friends who care about us enough to know our temptations and triggers to sin and who will ask us regularly—even out of the blue—how we’re really doing. Friends like this will make you uncomfortable and even angry at times. And you should thank God for people like this in your life. Friends don’t let friends neglect the Bible.
  3. Give yourself to regular, corporate worship. It is difficult to hate that which your church family loves. If your church values the Bible—if God’s word is at the center of its preaching, singing, teaching, lamenting, praying, feasting, counseling, and encouraging—this can be a helpful tether. A church that consistently points back to the Bible helps its people learn to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
  4. Pray. None of us, if left to ourselves, are above turning from God. Confess your weakness and your proneness to wander. Ask God to keep you and to give you an enduring love for him. He is a good father who loves to give good gifts to his children.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-03-28)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Paradox of Ease: Why Friction is Good for You

Trevin Wax explains how convenience and getting all we need with ease is not necessarily good for us. And it doesn’t make us happier. He adds reflections on the Christian life coming out of this truth.

What would life be like if we could eliminate all friction? If we could do away with resistance? If fulfilling our desires were as simple as pressing a button, so the gap between what we want and what we experience shrinks to nothing?

“This is the aspiration of the digital,” Barba-Kay argues. It’s “to make the world fully pliant to [our] will.” The goal is to reduce the resistance between desire and fulfillment. And in theory, this should make us happier. If we could eliminate struggle, wouldn’t joy be easier to come by?

It hasn’t worked out that way.

On Failure

To be human is, sadly, to know failure. Alan Noble examines worldly grief and godly grief in the context of failure.

My favorite part of this verse is the phrase “without regret,” because to me this is the whole key to understanding how to avoid worldly grief. Godly grief has a trademark: it doesn’t come with regret. There’s no obsessing over the failure or going over the details again and again to try and fix things in your mind. Godly grief accepts that Christ has forgiven us and that is more than enough. And so we are free to live.

Lenten Sonnets

Andrew Peterson is writing sonnets through Lent this year, so I’m sharing two of them for the poetry section of the links this week: Lenten Sonnet X, 2025 and Lenten Sonnet XVII, 2025.

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 (2025-03-21)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Best Source of Stability on an Emotional Roller Coaster

Lois Flowers encourages us to cling to the anchor of God’s character when we’re in life’s storms.

What is true about God doesn’t change according to our circumstances. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. As believers, our names are engraved on the palm of His hand. He loves us with an everlasting love. He goes before us and is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

These are truths, not clichés. They are not metaphorically hidden in the pages of scripture. They are spelled out clearly and plainly.

Even though we may sometimes think otherwise, God’s love does not cease to apply to us when something in our lives goes wrong. We are not the exception to His promises, His truth or His sovereignty. When trials come, as He explicitly promised they would, His character does not bypass us or our loved ones.

In Sanctification, Where You’re Going Is More Important Than Where You Are

Kevin DeYoung wrote some helpful words for us on how we progress in holiness.

Which brings us to one of the most important axioms about holiness: when it comes to sanctification, it’s more important where you’re going than where you are. Direction matters more than position. Your future progress speaks louder than your present placement. So cheer up: if you aren’t as holy as you want to be now, God may still be pleased with you because you are heading in the right direction. And be warned: if you aren’t as holy as you used to be, God probably isn’t impressed with yesterday’s triumphs when for the last few months you’ve done nothing but give up.

March Sonnet

Our poem of the week: March Sonnet by Chelsea Fraser. This is a poem about the arrival of spring (with a hint of resurrection thrown in too).

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Reading the Bible for the First Time. 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. 

Reading the Bible for the First Time

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Imagine that a friend of yours has just become a Christian. She knows of your faith and asks to meet with you.

Your friend knows the Bible is an important book for Christians, and she wants to read it. But she has no familiarity with the Bible at all.

What would you say to her?

Only the Essentials

This post isn’t an attempt to say everything about the Bible, just what would be most helpful to a person reading the Bible for the first time.

In what follows, I’ve collected some important facts and advice aimed at first-time Bible readers. If you have further additions or suggestions, I’d love to read them in the comments!

6 Facts About the Bible

Welcome to the Bible! As you begin, you should know some information about the book you’re about to read.

  1. The Bible is God’s word. Though the Bible was written in time and space by human authors, it is divinely inspired. God’s love and sovereignty are such that the words we have are exactly what he intended. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17)
  2. The Bible is true. If God is the ultimate author of the Bible then we will see his character throughout this book. Since he is perfect, pure, and unable to lie, the Bible is trustworthy and true.
  3. The Bible is important. A small number of questions in life have ultimate consequences. What is God like? What does he think of me? What does he want people to do? Because God wants to be known, he has answered these questions in the Bible.
  4. The Bible is concerned with God and his people. The relationship between God and his rebellious people—first the nation of Israel and then the church—is the focus of God’s word. Biblical teachings have massive implications for individuals, but they are primarily addressed to groups of people.
  5. The entire Bible is about Jesus. After Jesus rose from the dead, he explained to some of his disciples that every part of the Bible spoke of him. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
  6. The Bible is clear. Though some parts of the Bible are difficult to understand, far more of the Bible is plain. After all, in several places, God commands his people to teach the Bible to their children. We must interpret the more challenging parts of Scripture in light of the portions that are clear. The Bible is not only for those with high IQs or advanced degrees; the Bible is knowable to everyone.

7 Suggestions for Reading the Bible

There is much more to say about the Bible, but for those just starting out, it is more important for you to start reading. Here are some suggestions for reading the Bible that apply just as much on Day 1 of your Bible-reading adventure as they will on Day 10,000.

  1. Pray before you read the Bible. Because the Bible is God’s word, we need his help to understand and benefit from reading it. God loves to answer this prayer!
  2. You don’t need to read the Bible from start to finish. Many Christians read the Bible from Genesis straight through to Revelation, but this is not necessary. I suggest starting with the Gospel of John, then Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Then move on to Genesis and Exodus. There’s no single correct way to read the Bible.
  3. You don’t need to read the entire Bible right away. Read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans are popular, but these are not mandated by God. You should eventually make your way through the whole Bible, but it is far more important to read carefully and slowly than to read quickly without understanding.
  4. Reread the Bible. Plan to read the Bible for as long as you live. We need to reread the Bible both because we forget what is true and because each reading of the Bible offers more riches than the last.
  5. Read the Bible with others. Christians are a part of God’s family and we are called into community with each other. This is important for many reasons, including understanding and applying the Bible. Seek out a Bible-believing church and some people within the church with whom to read and discuss the Bible.
  6. Establish a habit. The sooner you can make regular Bible intake a part of your life, the better. Find a good time and place for reading the Bible, and try to read regularly. A habit like this doesn’t make you more precious to God, but it could make God more precious to you.
  7. Study the Bible. While the Bible is knowable, sometimes it requires work to understand what it says. Older Christians in your church should be able to offer guidance, and there are lots of articles and resources on this web site to help.

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