Tag: James Williams

Links for the Weekend (2024-01-26)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Aging Peacefully

This is a wise and touching article about aging, inspired by an encounter with a dress in a department store.

I was embarrassed that I haven’t transcended these ideas of what it is to be a woman, that I haven’t devoted more of my mind and my heart to purely spiritual endeavors instead of physical ones. I wondered why there is such heartbreak in something as inconsequential as crow’s feet, love handles, greying hair, and a particularly beautiful dress that I am too old to wear.

It’s Okay To Just Pray

I thought it would be good to include an article about prayer since we’re hearing about the Lord’s Prayer on Sunday mornings. This article by Tim Challies emphasizes that we don’t need to understand prayer in order to pray.

I take that to mean that we should not allow our lack of understanding to lead to a lack of prayer. We should not allow our confusion to excuse hesitation. Instead, we should press on in obedience and faith—obedience to God’s clear command and faith that prayers are meaningful to God. We should press on in earnest prayer, in confident prayer, in constant prayer, and in all kinds of prayer, trusting that God loves to hear them and act upon them.

When Consequences Are Irreversible

Our sin has consequences. What happens when those consequences are irreversible?

Perhaps you made a major life choice like a move or job change without listening to the Lord through prayer and wise counsel…then it quickly becomes apparent that you made the wrong choice but can’t change it immediately. What if you marry an unbeliever only to realize your sin after you’ve made the commitment and said ‘I do.’ There are many different ways we may make a wrong choice that brings long-term consequences, and surely living in guilt and shame for the rest of our life isn’t God’s desire for his people.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Gospel Gives Us Courage. 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 (5/22/2020)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

When My Idol in Motherhood Is Me

I’m guessing that every parent has had to grapple with anger at their children. Aurlyn Wygle took the time to think about the cause of her anger, and she came to a startling fact: her biggest problem as a mother was not the sin in her sons, it was the sin in her.

The more that I lay this idol at the feet of Jesus, the more He gives me eyes to see my sons the same way He sees me—with compassion, and like sheep without a shepherd. I certainly still have frequent moments of anger. But now I know that the anger is pointing to a deep-rooted sin inside of me, not them. The Lord is working to expose this in order that I might lovingly and graciously engage my children, raise them in righteousness and enjoy them.

Life on Life Discipleship

Podcast host Karen Hodge and guest Cheryl Mullis talk about life-on-life discipleship within the church. What sort of transformation could a culture like this create? This podcast is a resource produced by the PCA’s Committee on Discipleship Ministries (CDM).

Flattery is not Encouragement

We are commanded to encourage each other but forbidden from flattery. The problem is, they can sound very similar! How can we tell the difference, both in ourselves and in others?

It’s difficult to distinguish between the two because it’s often a matter of motive. Flattery is defined in Webster’s dictionary as “praise excessively especially from motives of self-interest.” Sometimes flattery is detectable because it is “excessive,” but other times it’s simply the motive of the speaker that differentiates it from encouragement.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Learning to Lament. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Thanks to Maggie A for her 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.