Links for the Weekend (2024-06-28)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

‘I Will Not Forget You,’ Hope in the Grief of Dementia

Dementia seems like a particularly cruel disease both for those afflicted and their loved ones. This post discusses spiritual matters associated with dementia and offers some assurances.

As we ride the swells of confusion and sorrow, our concerns turn toward the spiritual. What can we say about a loved one’s soul when he loses all memory of attending church, of reciting prayers, and even of Christ himself? Does God’s grace fade away with memories, shriveling as our neurons thin? Are our loved ones still saved when they can no longer affirm with their words that Christ is risen?

10 Things You Should Know about the Final Judgment

The final judgment may not be a terribly popular topic of conversation, but it is important! This post rounds up some important facts about the final judgment.

If you are in a harrowing car wreck and you come out unharmed and safe, you feel a keen sense of relief and gratefulness that you escaped uninjured. The final judgment shows us what we deserved, what we, as sinners and as those who refused God’s ways, should experience. When we see and feel the glory of God’s merciful love in Jesus, we give thanks for our rescue, just as we are all the more thankful for our health after a ravaging case of the flu. Our escape from judgment should not provoke us to think we are better than unbelievers. Instead, we feel that we are blessed ten-fold in that the Lord has rescued us from his righteous wrath.

Life Without Internet

Our poem of the week: a poem that remembers how we looked up information before the internet.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Four Precious Promises from God for Everyday Growth. 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. 

Four Precious Promises from God for Everyday Growth

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

God’s promises are essential to our faith and fundamental to our hope. And these promises are so much better than we think.

In my previous article, I wrote about the characteristics of the promises of God. His promises help us grow in godliness and escape the corruption in the world. In this article I will spotlight four promises that aid in our spiritual growth.

You Will Be Saved

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This bedrock promise can be found in the book of Romans.

For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:11–13)

Christians often cite this passage in the context of coming to faith. However, Paul may have had our future salvation in mind, as he distinguishes between justification and salvation in Romans 10:10.

The righteousness we need is not based on the law, but based on faith (Romans 10:6). And for this righteousness, we look to Christ (Romans 10:4).

We will be spared the wrath of God in the judgment if we call on Christ in this way.

The Lord Hears Our Cries

Part of growing in grace is learning to converse with God—to bring all of our happiness, sadness, confusion, and grief to him. Does he hear us? Might he be busy with other items on his agenda?

No, we have promises from God that assure us of his attention.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:15–18)

God hears the righteous when they cry. (Don’t read “righteous” as “perfect” but rather as “in Christ.”) The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.

There Are Ways to Resist Temptation

As we mature in our faith, our desires and behavior change. How comforting it is to know that we now have power to say no to temptation!

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God takes our “ability” into account when allowing our temptations, meaning that he makes us “able” to endure temptation—that is, to escape it. This doesn’t make resisting temptation easy in the moment! It does mean that sin is not inevitable.

James states this promise another way.

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:6–8)

Practically speaking, resisting the devil and finding a “way of escape” are probably one and the same. In context, resisting the devil also involves submitting humbly to God. When we do this, God promises that the evil one will depart. A marvelous example of his grace!

God’s Word Brings Blessing and Growth

Christian growth is often slow. And yet God tells us some of the ways to move forward. One of these ways is through the Bible.

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1–3)

We grow up into our salvation, God promises, through the pure spiritual milk. In context (see 1 Peter 1:23–25), this refers to the Scriptures.

On a broader scale, we are promised that God’s word brings blessing.

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1–3)

This passage is not only about God’s law, but delighting in and meditating on God’s law is the key contrast to those behaviors that should be avoided. A Christian who delights in and gladly drinks of God’s word will be fruitful and blessed.

God’s Promises for Life

The promises I’ve highlighted are mostly related to our growth as Christians. But God intends our entire Christian life to be fueled by his “precious and very great promises” (2 Peter 1:4).

Trusting in God’s promises is at the core of our faith, and gladly expecting God to keep his promises is the essence of our hope. I plan to discuss the faith and hope and their relation to God’s promises in a future article.

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Links for the Weekend (2024-06-21)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Uselessness of Prayer

We may struggle with prayer because we’re approaching it with the wrong mindset. “You will never think prayer is a good use of your time if you’re thinking of prayer in terms of usefulness.”

Over time, praying works on us from the inside out, inviting us into communion with our Father who delights to hear us, even when we sound childish and immature. We’re his kids, and he loves us, and he smiles to see us growing up into the fullness of faith. As we echo the words of the psalmists, as we join our voices to the great saints of old, as we soak in the Scriptures, we find our hearts growing larger. Perseverance in prayer leads to the transformation of our desires.

What You Need to Understand about Evangelism before You Do Evangelism

J. Mack Stiles shares some mistakes he’s made when thinking about evangelism and helps us avoid them.

What comes to mind when you hear the word evangelist? What about evangelism? Before I became a Christian, those words sounded creepy and pushy to me. “Evangelistic zeal” seemed a standard applied to anybody who believed something too much—a wild-eyed and preachy fanatic.

night drive

Poem of the week: night drive, by Isabel Chenot. This is a beautiful poem about taking a drive at night in the rain.

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 (2024-06-14)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How to Not Exasperate Your Children

Hannah Carmichael wrote a helpful article discussing ways parents often exasperate their children and then what to do when that has happened.

Spending more than 15 years counseling young adults wrestling with the ramifications of how they were parented has prompted me to think deeply about specific parenting behaviors that lead to feelings of anger and discouragement in most children. There’s a type of parenting that crosses the line from instructive and nurturing to oppressive and exasperating. And it’s important we understand the difference both because our parenting has ramifications for our children and because our parenting is a reflection of the gospel.

Don’t Be Half a Berean

Jacob Crouch looks at the example of the Bereans in Acts 17. He notes that these early Christians had two characteristics worth emulating.

When Paul went to Berea, he encountered a group of people who were “more noble” than others in their reception of the gospel. They received the word with all eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures to make sure that what Paul said was true. What a glorious account of these folks, and what a great example to emulate. I’ve loved this verse for a long time, and it has encouraged me often. But, I’ll admit, that sometimes I’ve been only half a Berean.

Monday Morning’s Cupboard

Our poem of the week: a lovely poem about hospitality by Kate Gaston.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Sabbath Proclaims the Gospel. 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 Sabbath Proclaims the Gospel

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

When most people think of Sabbath-keeping, their minds run to rules. They picture a list of activities to avoid.

This hardly does the Sabbath justice. The Sabbath was a key ingredient in God’s covenant, and keeping the Sabbath proclaimed wonderful news about God’s grace to his people.

The Sabbath as a Sign

God’s Sabbath command is rooted in creation and made plain on Mount Sinai, but the first extended discussion of the Sabbath is in Exodus 31.

After God gives his blueprints for the tabernacle, he tells Moses what to command Israel about the Sabbath (Ex. 31:12–17). God doesn’t owe his people a reason for his laws, but that’s what we find here.

We learn that the Sabbath is a sign. Exodus 31 says the Sabbath is a sign in two ways, both of which are profound statements about the Lord.

First, the Sabbath points to God’s sanctifying work.

You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, `Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. (Ex. 31:13)

When the people keep the Sabbath, they are to remember God’s work to sanctify them. God alone is the one who sets apart, who makes holy, who calls the people his own.

The Sabbath also points to God’s work and rest during that first creation week.

It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. (Ex. 31:17)

We’ve read before that God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2) and this reasoning also appears in the ten commandments (Ex. 20:11). But here we are also told that God was refreshed.

In what way was God refreshed on the seventh day? Was he tired? Was he feeling spent and overworked?

Of course not. God’s refreshment came from completion. He finished his work, rested, and was refreshed. (See Gen. 2:2.) There’s a special refreshment that comes after completing a project.

The Sabbath is Holy

The discussion in Exodus 31 makes one thing clear: the Sabbath speaks about God. The command is deadly serious because it involves the way the people understand and remember what God has done.

In particular, Israel must keep the Sabbath because it is holy. They do not make it holy by their observance; rather, they observe because the day is holy. God has make the day holy.

The Sabbath is a sign pointing to God’s work, not what the people need to do. In the same way, the Lord’s Day points to the finished work of God.

From the cross Jesus announced that his work was finished (John 19:30). His body rested in the grave on the Sabbath but burst forth on Sunday morning. Jesus’s resurrection was a verification, a jubilant trumpet call announcing the finished work of God to set apart people for himself.

The Refreshment of the Lord’s Day

Without getting into the thornier issues of modern Sabbath observance, there are a few things we can say with confidence.

The Lord’s Day points to God. While the fourth commandment certainly has implications for our behavior, the ground of the command is God’s work. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and his atoning work for us by worshipping on the first day of the week. This very act of corporate worship points to God’s sanctifying work—setting aside his people and making us holy.

The work is finished. We rest because God rested. The day is holy because God made it holy. We rejoice because of the resurrection.

The command is not a burden. The command was obeyed and fulfilled perfectly by Jesus. As God’s children, we now have power to obey from the Spirit. The command to observe the Sabbath is not a burden, it is for our refreshment.

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Heb. 4:9–10)

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Links for the Weekend (2024-06-07)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

This Body Is Only the Seed

Lots of Christians speculate on what life will be like with resurrected bodies. In this article the author meditates on one of the images Paul uses for the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15.

The joyful expectation of the resurrection and glorification of our bodies should give us confidence in God’s good purposes for us now. And when the time comes for us to lay this body down, like a seed in the ground, we can rest assured that God will bring us out of the grave as the glorious oak he intends for us to be.

How Can You Mumble?

We often focus on ourselves—our feelings, our own recent obedience or disobedience—when we sing in worship. But we forget that part of why we sing is to build each other up in faith. Tim Challies has a short article reflecting on this truth.

In every case, I have worshipped because even though I haven’t been able to sing, I’ve been sung to. Colossians 3:16 commands us to sing for the benefit of one another even as we sing ultimately to the Lord. Whenever we sing, we direct our hearts vertically toward our God, but we also direct our words horizontally toward our brothers and sisters. We sing from the gospel, for one another, to the Lord.

New song: Jesus Calms the Storm

The Gettys, Sandra McCracken, and Joni Eareckson Tada have collaborated on a new song, called Jesus Calms the Storm. It is written primarily for children, but like all good children’s material, this is great for older believers too. It provides “a reminder of the gospel’s hope in a world of anxiety.” On this page you can hear the song and read a Q&A with those who wrote it.

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 (2024-05-31)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

When childless becomes grandchildless

This is a sad and touching reflection on childlessness. I appreciated Karen Swallow Prior’s honesty, and her words are beautiful.

You realize you will never know what kind of grandparent you would have been, what kind of birthday parties you would have hosted, special outings you would have planned, spoiling you would have done and dreams you’d have helped fund. But you think you would have been a good one.

Let the Bible Help You Understand Depression

Kathryn Butler helps us understand depression through a Biblical lens and offers some Biblical hope for those who are suffering.

Understanding these truths can guide sufferers back to their hope in Christ when they need it most. In Sarah’s case, a gradual and careful walk through Scripture with compassionate church leaders was life-giving. As she wrestled to see the realities of her depression through a biblical lens, Sarah learned to trust God’s sovereignty and mercy, to express her despair through lament, and to lean on the church for support.

Our Mother-tongue Is Love; A Sonnet for Pentecost

Our poem of the week: this sonnet for Pentecost, by Malcolm Guite. Even though we’re two weeks past Pentecost on the church calendar, I think you might enjoy this.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called A Christian Alternative to Optimism and Pessimism. 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. 

A Christian Alternative to Optimism and Pessimism

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Optimism and pessimism are sometimes portrayed as two ends of a one-dimensional spectrum, with “realism” as the rational, sensible midpoint. A good Christian alternative to optimism and pessimism is to ditch the spectrum entirely and focus on hope.

We all have tendencies toward and moments of optimism and pessimism, and I suspect this is due to our personalities and experiences. What I’m critiquing below is the extreme versions of optimists and pessimists.

The Optimist

An optimist will always “expect the most favorable outcome.” They see good things around every corner and are quick to point out the silver lining to the storm cloud.

When combined with Christianity, this sort of optimist can be hard to talk to. They know God has a purpose behind every difficult turn of events; they urge others to think about the ultimate good God has in store, even when the suffering is great.

While well-intentioned, this optimistic approach leaves little room for lament and grief in the face of sadness and suffering. An optimist is so uncomfortable with pain that they rush themselves and their friends through it. But God may have holy intentions in that pain.

Taken to its extreme, optimism blunts the effects of sin and the curse, and this leaves little need for Jesus. If everything is going to turn out well, why did the Son of God become a man? Why did he suffer and die?

Counsel for the optimist

Christians can affirm some of the optimist’s instincts: for those who trust in the Lord, there certainly is good ahead! However, God has not promised good at every turn. Because sin really exists and the world is not yet made new, there may be prolonged seasons of sadness, frustration, confusion, and failure. When a Christian experiences these seasons, it does not mean they are far from God; God often uses these dark times to remind his children who he is and what he has promised.

The Pessimist

In stark contrast, the pessimist will expect the least favorable outcome in any situation. They are always braced for catastrophe and see a cloud behind every silver lining.

A pessimist sees an inevitability to disaster and distress, and when it comes, they wear I-knew-it like a badge of honor.

Within the church, a pessimist can be difficult to befriend. As they focus on the bad and dismiss the good, it is hard to enjoy the gifts of God with them.

Pessimists may have hope in heaven, but they are convinced there will be little to smile about until then. They are frequently bitter and cynical in their approach to life, and they may begin to question God’s goodness and his love.

Counsel for the pessimist

I would affirm this part of the pessimist’s beliefs: there really are terrible things that happen in life. However, we should not expect everything to be bad! The Lord God is sovereign; he has given us good to look forward to but he also brings good into our lives now.

Hope is a Christian Alternative

Both optimism and pessimism describe ways of looking at the future, and both are unhealthy in some respects. I’ll offer the lens of Biblical hope as a robust alternative.

Hope is the eager expectation that God will keep his promises. This means that if we are to be hope-filled people, we need to know what God has promised, not just what we think or wish he had promised. This is one of many reasons Christians are to be people of the Bible—the Scriptures are where we learn about God’s promises.

Growing in Hope

While hope should characterize Christians (Romans 15:12-13), this is something God grows within us. We are not born again brimming with a tank full of hope.

As we get to know God by his Spirit and through his word, we see how trustworthy he is. Faithfulness is an essential part of his character. And when we repeatedly read the promises he has made to us, we learn to trust him. We begin to see with eyes of faith just how good it will be when those promises are realized.

This doesn’t settle every question or make every outcome sure, but when we trust in the God who governs all things and when we know he is undeniably in our corner, we can face the future with great hope.

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Links for the Weekend (2024-05-24)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Hospitality: A Command for Our Joy

I need regular reminders about hospitality; perhaps you do too. One of the particular blessings of this article is the way it describes our spiritual growth through showing hospitality.

If I hadn’t grown up in a community that loved hospitality, I wouldn’t naturally think of having people over for a meal. I can cook, but most of what I make is not that exciting. I love being with others, but too much social interaction exhausts me.

Despite those excuses and the uncertainties children add to the picture, we’ve chosen to prioritize hospitality. This is in part because of the joy it’s brought to our lives but also because Scripture commands us to.

The judgement of getting exactly what we want

Sometimes God shows his kindness by protecting us from what we want; other times he exercises fatherly discipline by giving us what we want.

In the end, we should thank God when he doesn’t give us the desires of our heart or the thing that we prayed for. We should trust that he knows best. He knows what work for his kingdom we are best suited to and what blessings would be more a snare to our hearts than for our ultimate good. Let us give thanks for those things God keeps us from and let us pay attention, if and when we get them and they prove to be hard, that the thing itself may be a judgement upon us.

His Glory and My Good

Here’s a new song by CityAlight which celebrates the way God’s glory and our good work together.

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 (2024-05-17)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Did the Jews Kill Jesus?

With Israel in the news a lot recently and anti-Semitism on the rise, Kevin DeYoung answers an important question: Should we say that the Jews killed Jesus?

But what about the Jews? Isn’t it the case that the Bible repeatedly affirms that the Jews as a people were responsible—perhaps uniquely responsible—for killing Jesus? After all, the crowd in Jerusalem, in clamoring for Jesus to be crucified and for Barabbas to go free, exclaimed, “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matt. 27:25). Even if the statement is unpopular, aren’t we obliged to say with the Bible that the Jews killed Jesus?

The short answer is: It depends.

Cling to the Light: How to Cope When Suffering with Depression

This article may be helpful for some in our church family, and it may be helpful for others who have friends and family members in this situation. Kathryn Butler offers counsel for Christians suffering with depression.

Dear friend, if you’re among those who cry out to God and yearn for his comfort, know you’re not alone. Your walk in the darkness cannot hide you from the Light of the World (John 8:12). Even when you can’t feel his presence, Jesus remains with you until the end of the age (Matt. 28:20), and nothing—not your shame, your despair, or the agony of depression—can separate you from his love (Rom. 8:38–39).

Jazz

Our poem of the week: A four-stanza poem about jazz and much more. This one will repay multiple readings.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Ordinary Ingredients of Christian Growth. 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.