Casey McCall – Washington Presbyterian Church

Wrinkles That Testify

The culture whispers that aging is a problem to be solved, a disease to resist. My social media often features the next miracle supplement, an exercise plan promising strength and mobility. There are many lists—do this, and don’t do that—for longevity. But Psalm 71 pushes back with a better vision: aging is an opportunity, a holy vocation, another chapter in the lifelong call to be a disciple of Jesus and to make disciples of Jesus.

How to Rightly Train Your Affections

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.

Epiphany

Our poem of the week: Epiphany, by John Claiborne Isbell. This short poem is about the distance from us to God and what happens when God reaches 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.

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!