Category: Links

Links for the Weekend (2026-10-16)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Where I End And We Begin

Alan Noble writes about where we find ourselves as individual Christians when we’re called to be part of a community (the church). Is there room for individuality?

Your personal dreams and desires still matter before God. They don’t get absorbed into the Blob of belonging to Others, but they do get tempered by them. Your right relationships to others help you see healthy ways to order your desires to God. When your relationships are unhealthy, they encourage you to develop perverse desires or to abandon your good desires for the sake of the Others.

Calibrate Your Conscience

Jacob Crouch urges us to tune our consciences to the Word of God.

On the other hand, sometimes the conscience has become dull. That check engine light stopped working years ago, and the things that we should be bothered by are not even on the radar. This dull conscience needs to be calibrated so that we don’t continue to walk in sin! The dull conscience no longer registers sin, and we walk without that God-given voice of reason in the everyday things of life.

Monstrance

Our poem of the week: Monstrance, by Kate Bluett. This lovely poem is about being filled by the Spirit.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Niceness Is Not Enough. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2026-10-09)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

4 Truths to Preach to Your Sorrows

Tim Challies meditates on Romans 8:28 and offers some bedrock truths for us to remember when we are experiencing sorrow. Here’s one of them.

God loves me. It’s the simplest of truths but also the most important and the most formative. Why? Because if you really believe that God loves you, you will respond differently to your trial than if you think God hates you, or if you think God is apathetic toward you, or if you just aren’t certain how God relates to you. Preaching to yourself “God loves me” establishes your relationship with God in your own mind and heart. You may be tempted to reason from this hard thing to the belief that a bad circumstance must point to a bad relationship. But when difficulties come your way, it does not mean that God’s character has changed. It does not mean that his disposition toward you has changed. It does not mean that his relationship to you has changed.

How to Be Happy at Work

Dan Doriani writes about different approaches to work and he offers recommendations that will help Christians to be satisfied with work.

A few years ago, researchers compared the job satisfaction of people who aimed for enjoyment at work with those who aimed for meaning, or work that reflected their values. Perhaps counterintuitively, the survey found that people who pursue their values, rather than happy feelings, have “higher passion and job satisfaction, and lower turnover intentions.”

If we compare feeling good and doing good, doing good brings more satisfaction over time. Similarly, if we compare the pursuit of pleasure to the pursuit of purpose, purpose is more satisfying over time.

Revelation Is Not a Puzzle: 4 Keys to Interpretation

Daniel Hyde offers some help for us as we read and try to understand the book of Revelation.

The book does ask to be understood. Yet not in the way so many think. The seals, trumpets, and bowls are not a collection of coded predictions that we can confidently match, one by one, to individual events in a modern timeline. If each symbol pointed to one datable event, how would we identify which event among thousands? Thus, we’d get endless interpretations and no certainty, and the book would stay closed.

That’s why I say Revelation was not given like a mass of puzzle pieces to be solved. God did not give Revelation to be interpreted by us but to interpret the world for us. That one sentence changes what you’re doing when you open it. You’re not the detective. You’re the one being shown something.

So how do you read Revelation? Here are four keys: Read it as a book about Christ, to reveal, written in Old Testament signs, and to be heard and obeyed.

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 (2026-10-02)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Can We Trust the New Testament Text We Have Today?

John Samson writes about the manuscript evidence for the Bible and how that affects its trustworthiness.

The telephone game is fun exactly because it was designed to distort the message. It is one slim chain, one whisper at a time, and you cannot check the whisper you heard against anything else, not even the whisper before the one you heard. By the end of the line, you have no way to test anything that occurred along the way. Distortion is basically guaranteed.

The New Testament is the exact opposite to this.

The Sports Gambling Epidemic is Only Getting Worse

Cole Claybourn explains the seriousness of the sports gambling epidemic.

It’s never been easier to bet on sports, and people have never been more interested in doing so, data shows. According to 2026 Bank of America consumer account data, the number of online betting users increased significantly in the summer of 2026 thanks in part to the World Cup, with first-time users in June and July more than triple January levels. Millennials and Gen Z accounted for 88% of online betting activity in July.

Meditation XXIV

Our poem of the week: Meditation XXIV, by Mark Rico. This poem is about God waiting to sing creation into being.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called No Longer On Repeat. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2026-09-25)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Just Do It

Zak Mellgren writes about the Bible’s call to good works for those who are saved. He wants to make sure that our understanding of grace leads to faithful action, not inaction.

Christianity is not a spectator sport. When God saved you, he bestowed upon you the Team Jesus jersey through no achievement or effort of your own. You could never have earned it, yet he placed it on your shoulders in love and grace. But he did not only give you a team jersey. He gave you his word (the playbook) and his Spirit (the athletic ability to play the game). You have literally been granted supernatural power to do what was once impossible: to repent and obey in faith. So how strange it would be if you thanked the Lord and walked cheerily towards the sideline, admiring your clean, spotless new jersey, and sat down to cheer everyone else on instead of stepping into the game? T’would be strange, indeed.

A Theology of Music

Griffin Gooch’s article about music and theology describes the way music can echo or exalt the goodness of God.

Something about the way God crafted our sense receptors to metabolize chords and notes incentivizes joyful transcendence. As such, all these melodic vibrations and frequencies are a reminder that He meticulously designed our universe with more goodness and beauty than He needed to. We’d technically be able to survive without music, but a life without it wouldn’t be life to the full.

You Are Not Your Trials

The hard parts of our lives mark us and form us, but they do not define us.

If we took stock of who we are becoming, one of the things we will clearly see is that the hands of our Sculptor seem to have been most formative during the days of difficulty and trial. Though we might have been too blinded by our pain at the time to recognize it, in retrospect we would have to admit that those dark days of difficulty were forming days. It was during those days that God chipped away at our sin and self-reliance; at our lack of trust and immaturity.

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 (2026-09-18)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Where to Find Your Happy Place

Andrew Wilson writes about happiness and joy: why do they exist? How do we find them? He explains how we find ultimate joy in God’s presence.

But it’s Solomon’s father, David, who goes even further. He declares that beyond dwelling in any physical structure, being in God’s presence and the joy it brings is the only thing he wants in life: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (27:4). God’s presence is so delightful that when you experience it, you don’t want anything else.

A Replacement for Judas: Acts 1:15–26

Jeffrey Stivason explains how the way the apostles replaced Judas highlighted God’s appointment.

At first glance, Acts 1:15–26 is a puzzling passage. Luke devotes twelve verses to the replacement of Judas Iscariot! That is unexpected. Even more surprising is the method by which the apostles make their replacement decision. After identifying two qualified men, they cast lots to determine who would become the twelfth apostle. Did you hear that? They cast lots.

Mustang Grape

Our poem of the week: Mustang Grape, by Kate Bluett. This poem is about a vine growing in Texas and also about desire for the Lord.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Those Who Hope Are Transformed. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2026-09-11)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

It’s Not Too Late to Make This a Great Year of Bible Reading

Tim Challies encourages us not to give up on the year if our devotional life hasn’t gone like we wanted. He offers suggestions on how to make the most of the rest of the year with regard to prayer and Bible reading.

By the end of August, many people have come to admit that the dreams they had for Bible reading that year have not been realized. Maybe that’s your reality. Maybe you set out strong in January and kept up the habit through the first half of the year, but then summer came along, routines were disrupted, and things haven’t been the same ever since. Or maybe you planned to read through a daily devotional but didn’t enjoy it as much as you thought you would. Maybe you found your reading plan was just a bit too heavy for the realities of your life. Maybe you got sick and couldn’t read for a time, or had a baby and have had to build entirely new routines. There could be any number of factors. 

I simply want to encourage you not to surrender the rest of this year. In fact, I want you to believe that you can still make this an extraordinary year of reading your Bible. However, for that to be the case, you will need to take a bit of time to consider how to read, what to read, and how to either form a new habit or re-form an old one.

How to Treat Sexual Thoughts

Alan Noble provides advice for dealing with impure, sexual thoughts.

For some of us, impure sexual thoughts come up often, for others, hardly at all. That’s just how God designed us. But society clearly wants us thinking about sex all the time, and more importantly, society wants us to engage and dwell on those thoughts. It appeals to our sexual passions. Because that’s how we are led to buy more products and services. As a result, for some Christians, their interiority can be crowded with impure thoughts daily. And they may hate themselves for it. They may experience shame. Regret. Self-loathing. Distrust of self. And also a feeling of helplessness. The thoughts just keep coming. How do you stop them so you can pay attention to what’s in front of you, to who is in front of you? How do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ by thinking of them in holy, respectful, familial ways?

How to Pray When You Feel Like You Pray the Same Thing Every Day

If you’re wondering for some practical tips on including Scripture in your prayer life, this article is a good resource.

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 (2026-09-04)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Advice for a Young Bride

Melissa Edgington writes about how dependence in marriage should be embraced, not discarded.

If I could give advice to a young bride today, after three decades of experimentally learning how to live a life that’s hopelessly and gloriously intertwined with a man’s, I would urge her to embrace her dependence on her husband. I would tell her not to just embrace it, but to revel in it, enjoy it, and celebrate it as one of the great joys of married life.

6 Reasons to Study the Bible

Glenna Marshall offers six compelling reasons to study the Bible.

We study the Bible not to become smart but to become wise in the things of God. We study the Bible to know the ultimate author, hear what he has to say, walk closely with him, and reflect him to the world around us. When we open our Bibles to observe, take notes, pray, ask questions, and search diligently, we will be transformed as our minds are renewed by the inspired words of God.

Pleading My Righteousness?

Have you wondered how to handle the occasions in the psalms when the author asks God to deal with him according to his own righteousness? Dan Crabtree offers advice.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called How to Enjoy Your (Vain) Life. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2026-08-28)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Engaged but Not Alarmed

Dan Cruver writes about following the news of the day without being consumed by it.

Our confidence in Christ means we need not come to the news as anxious citizens or loyal partisans or helpless doomscrollers. We read as those whom Christ has chosen, redeemed, and forgiven according to the riches of God’s grace — as those included in God’s purpose to unite all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:4–10).

On Being a Self-Critical Christian

Chris Martin reflects on being overly critical and how he has grown in this area. He also ties this to his tendency to be self-critical. He ends with some helpful Scriptural reminders for those who have a critical spirit.

I can’t point to any single reason I’ve become less critical over the years. Surely the Holy Spirit has helped, convicting my heart in times of Bible reading and prayer (and through friends). Some of my growth is probably attributable to general maturity—as one ages he tends to get less fiery, I think. And no small portion of it can likely be credited to becoming the father of two young girls in the last six years. I would say being a girl dad has softened me more than just about anything—the Holy Spirit has certainly used this in his molding of my heart.

Creation Groans

Our poem of the week: Creation Groans, by Kate Bluett. This poem reflects on Romans 8 and imagines all that will be one day different in creation.

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 (2026-08-21)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Weakness Isn’t Our Enemy

Sarah Walton reminds us that we were created as dependent creatures; needing help from others isn’t a sign that we’re doing something wrong!

We dislike needing help. We resent our physical limitations. We’re frustrated by our emotions, disappointed by our failures, and unsettled by circumstances we can’t control. We despise the weaknesses that expose how little power we actually possess.

But perhaps we’re fighting the wrong battle. Weakness isn’t our enemy. Weakness is one of God’s greatest invitations.

If you seek your calling, look about you.

Reagan Rose helps us think about our present callings (in contrast to our possible future callings). Often, what God is calling us to right now is evident around us!

It’s easy to get so preoccupied with looking to the future that we neglect faithfulness in our present responsibilities. It’s easy to miss the glory of the mundane. But all of our responsibilities are important as we do them as worship unto the Lord and love to our neighbor. 

Are you seeking to be holy as He is holy, reflecting the image of Christ in whatever roles or responsibilities you have right now? Whether you are working a job, studying for school, serving in church, or doing the dishes, your calling is to be maximally faithful to the task He’s given you. 

How To Show Hospitality When You Live in a Small Home

From his experience, Tim Challies offers some advice on how to show hospitality in a small space.

First, don’t be ashamed of your house. We are all prone to judge one another by visible symbols of wealth like cars, clothes, and houses, and we knew that people would draw conclusions about us based on the size of our home. But we understood this to be the Lord’s provision for us and never wanted to be ashamed of what he provided. So we chose to be as thankful for our small house as anyone could be of their big one, and every bit as unashamed of it.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Ecclesiastes As Invitation. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2026-08-14)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

When God’s Plans Seem Inconsistent With His Promises

Kirsten Black writes about how the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac reveals the nature of faith. God will keep his promises even when we can’t see how that may happen.

Enduring faith trusts the character of God, even when his actions defy logic. Lasting faith believes who God says he is, even when experiences suggest otherwise. Sincere faith accepts that we cannot see the full picture. We can be certain, however, that we have a faithful God who knows and understands every aspect of what he is doing. He sees the beginning, the end, and everything in-between.

Cruising Downstream, Laboring Upstream

Tim Challies uses an analogy about canoeing on a river to help us understand growing in holiness.

You may know from experience that it is easy to take a boat downstream and much harder to take it back up. You certainly know from experience that it is easy to follow sin downstream and much harder to change your course to pursue holiness. As long as you go with the flow of your own desires, the ways of the devil, and the movement of the world around you, life is easy. You can stow your paddle and simply coast. But when you choose to turn toward the Lord, when you decide you will labor toward the Heaven he has secured for us rather than coast to Hell, you quickly learn that you are in for a struggle.

How to Fight Laziness

John Piper explains a proverb about laziness and points to our hope of transformation.

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