“These five misconceptions remind us that sometimes our picture of scriptural stories is shaped more by popular perceptions and modern retellings than by the text itself. But when we take a closer look at the biblical clues, a wonderful—and hopefully more accurate—picture emerges of what happened that night nearly 2,000 years ago.
And what happened that night still stands as one of the most monumental events in human history. God became a man and entered our dark, cold world to redeem a sinful people.
And that is a story that should transform our “Bah, humbug” into a hearty “Merry Christmas.”
“When children move from reliance on their parents toward the independence of adulthood, it can be disorienting. Initially, parents set the guidelines for behavior and schedules in the home, but adult children grow toward autonomy by moving out, pursuing careers, and establishing households—households with a culture of their own.”
Here are five practical tips on loving your adult children and grandchildren well.
“There are a number of places in Scripture where God refers to his people as “the apple of his eye”—a delightful phrase that has been translated and adopted by the English language… but I think there is another application that ought to concern you and me.
We need to know that when we turn on our fellow Christians, when we hurt or harm them, when we belittle or insult them, we are likewise poking God in the eye. When we exaggerate their faults or diminish their graces, we are reaching out a finger toward his pupil. When we treat them poorly instead of well, when we tear them down instead of build them up, when we curse them instead of bless them, we are like a piece of grit in the eye of God.
And we should not expect that God will stand idly by while we do damage to what he regards as most precious.”
“At 101, most of your close friends have gone by,” says Paul Snyder, who lives in Kensington, Md. “But you can keep making new ones.”
Paul Snyder walks around Kensington, Md., wearing a hat that reads: MADE IN 1921. It’s a good conversation starter.
At almost 102 years old, Snyder believes the secret to successful aging is making new friends. He befriends people wherever he goes: the grocery store, the doctor’s office, church, the nail salon. Many people in his Parkwood neighborhood call him “Grandpa Paul.”
“At 101, most of your close friends have gone by,” said Snyder, who has lived in the same home since 1951. “But you can keep making new ones.” Snyder’s circle of pals grows weekly. Some of his fondest bonds have been formed in recent years.
Declaring ‘let’s make today a good day,’ a new ad released by Chevrolet offers a ray of hope for the families of Americans affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia.
“Lord, give me firmness without hardness, steadfastness without dogmatism, love without weakness.” (Jim Elliot)
“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30)
“It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.” (J.R.R Tolkien)
“Jesus is looking specifically for the people who can’t get their act together. After all, what is the use of telling a guy in bare feet to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Our obedience is not the grounds of our relationship with Jesus, but the overflow of it.” (Jared Wilson)
“Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I need it the most.”
“…it is misleading to say that God accepts us the way we are. Rather, He accepts us despite the way we are. He receives us only in Christ and for Christ’s sake. Nor does He mean to leave us the way He found us, but to transform us into the likeness of His Son.” (Sinclair Ferguson)
“The biggest problem with bureaucracy isn’t having too many rules. It’s having rules that fail to serve core values and goals. Dysfunctional organizations have rigid policies that thwart the mission. Healthy organizations have policies that can be changed to advance the mission.” (Adam Grant)
“If the culture in an organization is strong, new people will become like the culture. If the culture is weak, the culture will become like the new people. Building a strong culture is what builds a strong organization.” (Simon Sinek)
“People are not asking Christians for their beliefs on ‘right and wrong.’ They want to know: ‘Does it work?’ People are not asking if Christianity is true. They are asking whether it is good. People are not walking away from the church because they don’t believe what the church is saying. They are walking away because they don’t believe the church believes what it is saying.” (Kevin Brown, President of Asbury University)
“One donut won’t make you fat. One workout won’t make you jacked. What you do in a day won’t define you. But the habits you repeat for a year will.” (Brooks Coleman)
Anglican Prayer of Confession: “I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done and by what I have left undone. I am truly sorry, and I humbly repent… Have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Lord, have mercy upon me, pardon and deliver me from all my sins, confirm and strengthen me.”
“Sometimes life is so hard that you can only do the next thing. Whatever that is, just do the next thing. God will meet you there.” (Elisabeth Elliot)
“All the years that Jacob assumed Joseph was dead and gone, Joseph was actually being used by God to prepare for saving everyone else’s life. Our Lord often does his best work when we suppose all hope is lost.” (Chad Bird)
“Every once in a while, I meet a person who radiates joy. These are people who seem to glow with an inner light. They are kind, tranquil, delighted by small pleasures, and grateful for the large ones. These people are not perfect. They get exhausted and stressed. They make errors in judgment. But they live for others, and not for themselves. They’ve made unshakable commitments to family, a cause, a community, or a faith. They know why they were put on this earth and derive deep satisfaction from doing what they have been called to do.
Life isn’t easy for these people. They’ve taken on the burdens of others. But they have a serenity about them, a settled resolve. They are interested in you, make you feel cherished and known, and take delight in your good. When you meet these people, you realize that joy is not just a feeling, it can be an outlook. There are temporary highs we all get after we win some victory, and then there is also this other kind of permanent joy that animates people who are not obsessed with themselves but have given themselves away.”
“Studies have shown that… grateful people view their lives more favorably than others, have increased energy and self-confidence, and demonstrate better coping. They are more generous and optimistic, have a greater sense of purpose, have fewer medical problems, exercise more, and sleep better than their peers.…”
(What Brilliant Psychologists Are Learning About Humility by Mark R. McMinn – Christianity Today Magazine)
“Give thanks in all circumstances.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
(Colossians 3:17)
“Do everything without complaining or arguing.”
(Philippians 2:14)
Christian counselor and writer Matt B. Redmond recently highlighted the important habit of writing down specific things that fill us with gratitude.
He points out that we live in a world where the above verses are not the norm. Instead, we live in a world where complaint and a culture of rage used to be the exception, rather than the rule. Today we encounter these things all too often.
He writes, “The internet and social media have not only given us a place to complain, but they have formed us into people who complain and display their frustrations in hopes people will join in with us. We rage about politics, sports, movies, and how bad the service is at restaurants. It’s almost like we’re looking for reasons to be upset.”
Redmond goes on to write about his experience as a counselor: “What’s interesting is that none of this really makes us feel better. When I talk to a client about this, it’s interesting that none ever say they are happier as a result of their rage or complaining.”
So, what’s the antidote?
Redmond suggests, “One thing I give my clients to do that has almost always had a good effect—is a gratitude list. I have them write down ten things they are thankful for every morning. Ten unique things. No repeats. Yep, no repeats.”
Redmond says that after a week or two, it gets really hard to come up with ten things you are thankful for. You have to start getting creative. You have to start looking around you at the small things you overlook daily.
The exercise starts stretching you. It stretches mental muscles daily, so your ability to be grateful is stronger. You are training yourself every day to look for reasons to give thanksgiving to God instead of complaining.
Consider what complaint and rage are a response to… it’s basically us not getting our own way. Something is getting in the way of our will. Whose “will” do we want anyway? Thy will be done, or my will be done?
Now, imagine being a person overflowing with thanksgiving to God. Imagine “giving thanks in all circumstances,” as Paul instructed. Just imagine the potential for joy because you see reasons to fill your heart with gratitude everywhere and in all circumstances – when you’re on vacation and when you’re in a hospital bed.
When you become that kind of person, anger and complaint can be fought off because you have now submitted your will to God’s will.
Give it a try.
You’ve got nothing to lose except your complaining.
And, over time, you’ll be surprised how your attitude improves and how much more joy you experience.
“No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of grateful joy changes the present.”
(Ann Voskamp)
“Seek… to cultivate a buoyant, joyous sense of the crowded kindnesses of God in your daily life.”
(Alexander Maclaren – 1826-1910)
“Keep your own happiness journal. Record God’s evident goodness around you every day. You’ll find that in time, you’ll see more and more gifts from him – not because there are more, but because you’re finally seeing what has been there all along.”
(Randy Alcorn)
“Ultimately, in his essence, Satan is an ingrate. And he sinks his venom into the heart of Eden. Satan’s sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude… Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren’t satisfied in God and what He gives.”
(Ann Voskamp)
“Once we experience thanksgiving as our default condition, we’ll find it’s inseparable from our happiness, and we’ll never want to go back to the barren wasteland of ingratitude.”
(Randy Alcorn)
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
“Remember, if you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”
Greg Mckeown (from Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less)
“It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
Greg Mckeown
“Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.”
Greg Mckeown
3 End-of-Day Questions:
What went well?
What could have been better?
What will I change for tomorrow?
“You look at me in this wheelchair, paralyzed for 52 years, and most people would think, Oh, you’re looking forward to your new body. And yeah, that’s one of those fringe benefits. But I’m looking forward to the new heart; a heart free of manipulating others with precisely timed phrases; a heart free of fudging the truth; a heart free from hogging the spotlight, believing my own press releases… a heart free of not believing the best of others; a heart free of caving into fear or anxiety about the future. I can’t wait to have a heart free of sin.”
Joni Eareckson Tada
“Appreciate what you have before it turns into what you had.”
“It’s never too late to start doing what is right. Forget the past. Today is a new day. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Starting is half done.”
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact, please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death? I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
Thomas Merton (from Thoughts in Solitude)
“Grace is opposed to earning, but it is not opposed to effort because effort is action and earning is attitude. That difference is very important.”
Dallas Willard
“The Gospel eliminates earning, not effort; merit gained, not muscle applied; penance, not repentance; worldly sorrow, not godly sorrow; dead works, not working for God’s glory.”
Scotty Smith
Finally, I found these words by Alan Noble to be wise. In case you aren’t aware of who Alan is, he is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Christ and Pop Culture and an advisor for the AND Campaign. He has written for The Atlantic, Vox, BuzzFeed, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things. He is also the author of Disruptive Witness, and You Are Not Your Own.
“You can read and even encourage other people to read books you don’t completely agree with. I don’t know why this needs to be said in the Year of Our Lord 2023, but here we are. Actually, I do know why: because a virulent anti-intellectualism driven by paranoia and tribalism has infected the church. And guess what: you can read people you don’t agree with, and you don’t have to publicly announce your disagreement. Whatever your tribe is, I give you permission to read books without doing ‘Public Announcements of Intellectual Purity.’ You can even read my books.”
Here are some of my favorite quotes from Dr. Hendricks:
“We cannot impart what we do not possess.”
“A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.”
“You teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are.”
“The mark of spiritual maturity is not how much you understand, but how much you use. In the spiritual realm, the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge but obedience.”
“Every disciple needs three types of relationships in his life. He needs a ‘Paul’ who can mentor him and challenge him. He needs a ‘Barnabas’ who can come alongside and encourage him. And he needs a ‘Timothy,’ someone he can pour his life into.”
“You are able to do many things. But be sure you find the one thing you must do.”
“Eighty-five percent of spirituality is a good night’s sleep.”
“God is not looking for more stars; He’s looking for more servants.”
“You can impress people at a distance, but you can impact them only up close.”
“Experience is not the best teacher; evaluated experience is.”
“Learning is change. If you haven’t changed, you haven’t learned. Just because you can put it on paper or because you can recite it doesn’t mean it’s yours. It’s not yours until you change.”
“Character must always precede communication.”
“It’s the leverage of your life that’s going to make the greatest impact.”
“Scripture wasn’t given to make us smarter sinners, but to make us more like Jesus.”
“Knowledge that is self-discovered is stored in the deepest part of the mind and remains the longest in the memory. There is no jewel more precious than that which you have mined yourself.”
“The two things that will influence your life more than anything else are 1) the people you know and spend time with and 2) the books you read.”
“We cannot take people where we have not been or are unwilling to go ourselves.”
“If you stop learning, you stop leading. Leaders are life-long learners.”
– Dr. D.A. Carson (Distinguished Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)
Most of you, by now, are aware that Tim Keller passed away last week.
I don’t have the words to express my profound gratitude for Tim Keller. His books and sermons have influenced my life, marriage, and ministry. I have read almost all of Tim’s books. Tim was a combination of John Stott, C.S. Lewis, and Billy Graham. He was thoughtful, compelling, gentle, winsome, kind, steadfast, gracious, and brilliant… yet humble. Tim’s legacy is deep and wide and truly immeasurable.
The day before God took him home, Tim shared this with his family:
“I’m thankful for all the people who’ve prayed for me over the years. I’m thankful for my family, that loves me. I’m thankful for the time God has given me, but I’m ready to see Jesus. I can’t wait to see Jesus. Send me home.” (Tim Keller – May 17, 2023)
Tim’s son, Michael, posted this about Tim’s passing:
“Timothy J. Keller, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, friend, pastor, and scholar, died this morning at home. Dad waited until he was alone with Mom. She kissed him on the forehead, and he breathed his last breath. We take comfort in some of his last words, ‘There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.’ See you soon Dad.” (Michael Keller — on behalf of the entire Keller family)
“For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
In honor of Tim’s impact upon my life, I’d like to share some of my favorite quotes from his books. I started out with my “Top 10.” Then I realized that would not work, so I tried my “Top 20.” That was still too few. So, lest this article be too long, I stopped at my “Top 30.”
Here are my 30 “Quotable Quotes” that I have gathered over the years from Tim Keller. I pray you would be as encouraged and blessed by them as I have.
APOLOGETICS
“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all He said; if He didn’t, then why worry about any of what He said?”
“If there is no God, then either original matter sprang from nothing, or original matter has always existed without a cause, or there is an infinite regress of causes without a beginning. Each of these answers takes us out of the realm of science and the universe we know. They are nothing short of miracles.”
“Everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught. Unless there is God. If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, then this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God’s calling, can matter forever.”
“Jesus himself is the main argument for why we should believe Christianity.”
“To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible’s teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God, he wouldn’t have any views that upset you. Does that belief make sense?”
“There’s a kind of doubt that really is seeking more information—that ‘wants’ to believe if it’s possible. There’s also a kind of doubt that really is looking for a way out, that doesn’t want to believe or submit, that’s looking for a way to keep control of one’s own life. In Scripture, there is a wonderfully nuanced approach to doubt. The Bible doesn’t view doubt as always rebellious, nor does it encourage people to live in doubt perpetually. That’s why we’re told to ‘be merciful to those who doubt’ (Jude 1:22).”
“Tolerance isn’t about not having beliefs. It’s about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.”
“Never describe the view of an opponent in a way he or she will not own. Rather describe their view so they say, ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’ Only then should you proceed to refute the view. If, instead, you caricature your opponent – you persuade no one.”
CHRISTIAN LIVING
“The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”
“The way of wisdom is not the way of quick fixes and dramatic turnarounds. It is the way of long training and discipline.”
“You can love without agreeing with someone. You can disagree without hating them.”
“If our identity is in our work, rather than Christ, success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts.”
“[These are] Christianity’s unsurpassed offers—a meaning that suffering cannot remove, a satisfaction not based on circumstances, a freedom that does not hurt but rather enhances love, an identity that does not crush you or exclude others, a moral compass that does not turn you into an oppressor, and a hope that can face anything, even death.”
“All death can now do to Christians is to make their lives infinitely better.”
“True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself.”
“The claim that Jesus is God… means not just hope for the world, despite all its unending problems, but hope for you and me, despite all our unending failings.”
“The incarnation is the universe-sundering, history-altering, life-transforming, paradigm-shattering event of history [God took on flesh].”
“Christmas means that race, pedigree, wealth, and status do not ultimately matter. It means not being prejudiced against the poor—and not being biased against or for the well-off. We must not be snobs or snobs about snobs.”
“When you say, ‘Doctrine doesn’t matter; what matters is that you live a good life,’ that is a doctrine. It is called the doctrine of salvation by your works rather than by grace.”
MARRIAGE
“When over the years someone has seen you at your worst and knows you with all your strengths and flaws, yet commits him – or herself to you wholly, it is a consummate experience. To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”
“Within this Christian vision of marriage, here’s what it means to fall in love. It is to look at another person and get a glimpse of what God is creating, and to say, ‘I see who God is making you, and it excites me! I want to be part of that. I want to partner with you and God in the journey you are taking to his throne. And when we get there, I will look at your magnificence and say, ‘I always knew you could be like this. I got glimpses of it on earth, but now look at you!”
PREACHING & TEACHING
“Only if we [preachers and teachers] hammer home the gospel, that we are loved sinners in Christ – so loved that we don’t have to despair when we do wrong, so sinful that we have no right to be puffed up when we do right – can we help our listeners escape the spiritually bipolar world of moralism.”
THE GRACE AND MERCY OF GOD
“If you were a hundred times worse than you are, your sins would be no match for his mercy.”
“We would be more patient and kind with people and less hurt if we regularly remembered that we all have deep core faults.”
“When we grasp that we are unworthy sinners saved by an infinitely costly grace, it destroys both our self-righteousness and our need to ridicule others.”
“Having received such grace, Christians have a compelling reason to be remarkably gracious, inviting, and endearing toward others, including and especially those who disagree with us.”
“It is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus’ proclamations of grace and love are so astounding.”
“We are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted in Jesus than we ever dared hope.”
“Forgiveness, then, is a form of voluntary suffering. In forgiving, rather than retaliating, you make a choice to bear the cost.”
“Only this doctrine [the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross] keeps us from thinking God is mainly holy with some love or mainly loving with some holiness—but instead is both holy and loving equally, interdependently.”
“So if someone asks you if you are a Christian, you should not say, ‘Of course!’ There should be no ‘of course-ness’ about it. It would be more appropriate to say, ‘Yes, I am, and that’s a miracle. Me! A Christian! Who would have ever thought it? Yet he did it, and I’m his.”
“More Persians have come to faith in Jesus in the last twenty years than in the previous thirteen centuries.”
– Lindy Lowry, Open Doors USA
Let me share some good news with you that I hope will encourage your faith and remind you that God is moving mightily around the world.
Here are a few snippets of this good news that I came across recently:
“Across Melbourne, like many places around the world, a steady stream of Persian people have been turning up in churches, many giving their lives to Jesus in what is a modern-day revival. What makes this move of God more remarkable is that the Persians have been an unreached people group for millennia. Yet more Persians have come to faith in Jesus in the last twenty years than in the previous thirteen centuries.”
– From A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders by Mark Sayers (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2022 – p. 190).
“Describing how the church in Iran has grown, Mark Bradley writes in his inspiring book Too Many to Jail, . . .
‘There are very few public Christian meetings in Iran in Persian. But this success is a Pyrrhic victory. For out of this persecution against the official churches, the house churches have been born.’
The hard ground with God for the Persian church has become holy ground.
‘Many have suffered. But the result is that now there are more purified Christians in Iran who are passionate to spread the Gospel of Jesus’.”
– Mark Sayers, A Non-Anxious Presence (p. 191)
“In the last 20 years, more Iranians have become Christians than in the previous 13 centuries—since Islam came to Iran. In 1979, there were an estimated 500 Christians from a Muslim background in Iran. Today, there are hundreds of thousands—some estimate more than 1 million.
“According to the research organization Operation World, Iran has the fastest-growing evangelical movement in the world. The second-fastest-growing church is in Afghanistan—where Afghans are being reached in large part by Iranians.”
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
20 years ago, I read Randy Alcorn’s book, The Grace and Truth Paradox. I have quoted from this little book more times than I can count over the past two decades. At the heart of Global Training Network’s DNA is a commitment to both grace and truth.
Here are my Top 15 Quotes from Alcorn’s book:
In the first century, Christ’s followers were… recognized immediately.
What gave them away? It wasn’t their buildings. They had none. It wasn’t their programs. They had none. It wasn’t their political power. They had none. It wasn’t their slick publications, TV networks, bumper stickers, or celebrities. They had none.
What was it? “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).
They testified to the truth about Christ and lived by His grace. Truth was the food they ate and the message they spoke. Grace was the air they breathed and the life they lived. The world around them had never seen anything like it. It still hasn’t.
When God passed in front of Moses, he identified Himself as “abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). The words translated love and faithfulness are the Hebrew equivalents of grace and truth (p. 15).
Some churches today embrace truth but need a heavy dose of grace. Other churches talk about grace but cry out for a heavy dose of truth (p. 15).
Birds need two wings to fly. With only one wing, they’re grounded. The gospel flies with the wings of grace and truth. Not one, but both (p. 16).
Truth-oriented Christians love studying Scripture and theology. But sometimes they’re quick to judge and slow to forgive. They’re strong on truth, weak on grace.
Grace-oriented Christians love forgiveness and freedom. But sometimes they neglect Bible study and see moral standards as “legalism.” They’re strong on grace, weak on truth (p. 17).
Truth without grace breeds a self-righteous legalism that poisons the church and pushes the world away from Christ. Grace without truth breeds moral indifference and keeps people from seeing their need for Christ. Attempts to “soften” the gospel by minimizing truth keep people from Jesus. Attempts to “toughen” the gospel by minimizing grace keep people from Jesus. It’s not enough for us to offer grace or truth. We must offer both (p. 18).
Martin Luther said that the devil doesn’t care which side of the horse we fall off of—as long as we don’t stay in the saddle. We need to ride the horse with one foot in the stirrup of truth, the other in the stirrup of grace. (p. 21)
That’s how it is on this tightrope walk between truth and grace. When you stand for truth, you’re held in contempt by some non-Christians (and even some Christians). When you try to demonstrate grace, you’re held in contempt by some Christians (and even some non-Christians). When you try to live by grace and truth, in some eyes you’ll be too radical, in other eyes not radical enough. Some people hate truth. Others hate grace. Jesus loves both. We can’t undercut either without undercutting Him. (p. 26)
Grace isn’t about God lowering His standards. It’s about God fulfilling those standards through the substitutionary suffering of the standard-setter. Christ went to the cross because He would not ignore the truths of His holiness and our sin. Grace never ignores or violates truth. (p. 32)
Grace and Gratitude: “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” (Romans 11:35). The answer is nobody. Our culture is riddled with a poisonous spirit of entitlement. We always think we deserve more. We’re disappointed with family, neighbors, church, the waitress, the salesclerk, and the department of motor vehicles. Ultimately, we’re disappointed with God. He hasn’t given us everything we want. What madness! If only we could see our situation clearly—even for a moment. We deserved expulsion; He gives us a diploma. We deserved the electric chair; He gives us a parade. Anything less than overwhelming gratitude should be unthinkable. He owes us nothing. We owe Him everything. When you realize you deserve nothing better than hell, it puts a “bad day” in perspective, doesn’t it? Christians in Sudan—who’ve suffered unspeakably for their faith—are deeply grateful for God’s daily blessings. But us? We whine and pout. (p. 33)
Godly living centers not on what we avoid, but on whom we embrace. Anytime we talk more about dos and don’ts than about Jesus, something’s wrong. The Christian life is far more than sin management. Behavior modification that’s not empowered by God’s heart-changing grace is self-righteous, as repugnant to God as the worst sins people gossip about. (p. 37)
In fact, people who grow up in joyless religion learn that there’s no hope of living up to such daunting standards. “Why even try? It’s impossible!” But properly understood, biblical truths are guardrails that protect us from plunging off the cliff… The guardrails of truth are there not to punish, but to protect us. (p. 37-38)
A home full of grace is also full of truth because grace doesn’t make people less holy; it makes them more holy. Grace doesn’t make people despise or neglect truth; it makes them love and follow truth. Far from a free pass to sin, grace is a supernatural empowerment not to sin(Titus 2:11-12). (p. 66)
Jesus came down hardest on the very people whose doctrinal statement was the closest to His own. The Pharisees were the Bible-believing faithful of their day. (p. 67)
If we minimize grace, the world sees no hope for salvation. If we minimize truth, the world sees no need for salvation. To show the world Jesus, we must offer unabridged grace and truth, emphasizing both, apologizing for neither. The Colossian church “understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Colossians 1:6). (p. 87)
Truth without grace crushes people and ceases to be truth. Grace without truth deceives people and ceases to be grace. Truth without grace degenerates into judgmental legalism. Grace without truth degenerates into deceitful tolerance.
Christ’s heart is equally grieved by grace-suppression and truth-suppression, by grace-twisting and truth-twisting. (p. 88)
If you are not in the habit of reading books throughout the year, I would encourage you to pick up this discipline. Love of reading begins, many times, with discipline. Discipline practiced, over time, leads often to greater enjoyment (just like so many other areas in life). What was once hard and arduous, slowly becomes easier and more enjoyable the longer we practice it.
40+ years ago I was encouraged by several pastors and leaders who were investing in me to make it a habit of reading two to four books a month (25 to 50 a year). Outside of Scripture and the godly people who invested in my life over the years, it is the books I have read that have most deeply impacted and influenced me.
In our internet-saturated, social-media-obsessed, TV-streaming culture, reading good books and thinking deeply about them is becoming a lost art. And I think we are poorer because of it.
I heard someone once say, “I don’t read books. I read paragraphs.”
Meaning, if you read enough paragraphs, you’ll end up reading a chapter. And if you read enough chapters, you will end up reading a book.
If you are not in the habit of regular reading, I would encourage you to set a goal this year to read six to 12 books (one book every month to two months). If an average book was 300 pages, reading just 5 pages a day would lead to reading one book every two months. 10 pages a day? One book every month. 12 books a year. Just start with a paragraph.
Let me add (as I have said so often in the past), Scripture needs to be our regular, daily, and primary focus of reading (or listening).
If you need ideas for reading through Scripture this year, here are two sources that I have written about in the past:
With that said, here are my Top 10 books from 2022. Instead of giving you a full “back-cover” synopsis, I will simply give a few brief thoughts of my own about each book. You can follow the links to each book to read the full publisher’s summary.
Enjoy!
#10 – The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch
Andy’s diagnosis of our current culture and how technology plays into who we have become is once again profound. He deals very clearly with the harm technology has done to damage the deepest and most vulnerable longings of our hearts.
Far from being an “anti-technology book,” Andy is for a constant reassessment and reevaluation of how we use it – for our good and the good of our neighbors.
The first five pages of Chapter One sketch a profoundly impacting picture that you won’t forget. It will give you an image that you can relate to in both a deep and personal way.
#9 – Seasons of Sorrow by Tim Challies
Tim tells the story of suddenly losing his 20-year-old son, Nick, who was a student in seminary and studying to be a pastor. The shock, grief, pain and resulting questions that accompany such an event are all processed. With excellent writing, Tim walks the reader through the 12 months following his son’s death – Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.
I believe (and have taught over the years) that it is best for us to learn about pain, suffering, and grief before we actually go through it… so that when suffering and sorrow do come, we are better prepared (though we can never be fully prepared).
Everyone experiences pain and suffering sometime in life this side of heaven. Tim is a reliable guide in helping lead us through those “seasons of sorrow.”
#8 – A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller
Let me just say this: I’ve read dozens of books on prayer over the years – and many great ones – but this one is probably my favorite (alongside Tim Keller’s 300+ page book on prayer).
From the book: “Prayer is asking God to incarnate, to get dirty in your life. Yes, the eternal God scrubs floors. For sure we know he washes feet. So take Jesus at his word. Ask him. Tell him what you want. Get dirty. Write out your prayer requests; don’t mindlessly drift through life on the American narcotic of busyness. If you try to seize the day, the day will eventually break you. Seize the corner of his garment and don’t let go until he blesses you. He will reshape the day.”
#7 – Finding the Right Hills to Die On by Gavin Ortlund
How do we continue to truly love one another and stay on mission for Christ together even when we have different views of nonessential doctrines?
In my earliest years of ministry (back before the automobile), I died on far too many theological hills.
When I was a young 21-year-old, I heard Dr. Joseph C. Aldrich (former president of Multnomah School of the Bible) say, “You know, all of us are going to get to heaven and realize that we were wrong in some area of our theology.” I remember sitting there stunned, thinking, “Well, maybe you and these other people sitting around me, but surely not me.”
The longer I’m in ministry and the more Christians I meet from around the world, the more I see the need for gracious biblical wisdom about what theological “hills” are worth dying on and which ones are not. Ortlund provides a great service in this book for the entire body of Christ.
He makes it clear: there are hills worth dying on. And there are others that are not. But what hills are they? And how can we decide? Which doctrines rank first, second, third and fourth?
Very clear, easy-to-read book.
#6 – A Non-Anxious Presence by Mark Sayers
Sayers writes that if the church is to have the greatest impact upon our rapidly changing world, it will be because we (of all people on earth) provide a ‘non-anxious presence’ in a world filled with anxiety and fear. And he tells us how we can do it.
From the publisher: “For much of recent history, individuals and institutions could plan, execute, and flourish with their visions of a better world. Volatile, complex forces could be addressed and confronted with planning and management. But crisis is a great revealer. It knocks us off our thrones. It uncovers the weaknesses in our strategies and brings to light our myths and idols. Our past strategies run aground, smashed by unpredictable and chaotic waves.
“Yet in the midst of the chaos of a crisis comes opportunity. The history of the church tells us that crisis always precedes renewal, and the framework of renewal offers us new ways forward. A Non-Anxious Presence shows how that renewal happens and offers churches and leaders strategic ways to awaken the church and see our culture changed for Christ.”
#5 – Bright Hope for Tomorrow by Chris Davis
This book by Chris Davis was such a breath of fresh air. Rather than spending our time debating whether a person is pre-, post- or a-mil, I think the body of Christ would be far better served by all of us anticipating and focusing our attention upon the reality of the second coming of Christ (which we all agree on). How does focusing one’s attention upon Christ’s return give us strength, resilience and joy for today?
Pastor Chris Davis fleshes this out in a very clear, practical and beautiful way.
From the publisher: “In Bright Hope for Tomorrow, pastor Chris Davis points the way forward. Exploring the return of Jesus on the terms of the New Testament letters, this book looks at portraits of Jesus’ appearing, rhythms necessary to maintain expectancy (including gathering, fasting, and resting), and the practical transformation such anticipation effects. Bright Hope for Tomorrow is not the next new thing. Rather, it is a recovery of what has been lost by end-times studies that have veered into peripheral concerns. Join this return to the gospel center: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
#4 – The Secular Creed by Rebecca McLaughlin
McLaughlin is becoming one of the best young apologetic writers in our day. In this short little book, she deals with five current and common secular ‘creeds.’ She deals with five well-known phrases that we regularly hear, such as: 1) Black Lives Matter, 2) Love is Love, 3) The Gay-Rights Movement Is the New Civil-Rights Movement, 4) Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, and 5) Transgender Women Are Women.
How do you engage biblically, wisely, graciously, and compassionately with our neighbors who hold to many of these ‘creeds’?
McLaughlin helps to disentangle the beliefs that Christians gladly affirm from those that they cannot embrace.
#3 – The Air We Breathe by Glen Scrivener
In this book, Scrivener powerfully demonstrates how Christianity has shaped our Western values so much that we don’t even notice it. Christian values are the ‘air we breathe.’ Or to switch metaphors, they are the ‘water we swim in.’ Most people, even Christians, are not aware of this.
This is a book that I highly recommend for skeptics, inquirers, believers and anyone else who may be wondering whether following Jesus still makes sense in our modern world.
#2 – The Thrill of Orthodoxy by Trevin Wax
In this book, Trevin turns the tables on those who believe Christian teaching is narrow and outdated. By returning to the great creeds of Christendom, he explains what orthodoxy is and why we can have a proper confidence in it.
He also deals with common ways that we can stray from orthodoxy and how to protect ourselves from following that path.
As theologian Michael F. Bird said, “Wax shows that traditional orthodox Christianity… is a tried and tested alternative to the faddish and fragmentary fakes that masquerade as Christianity in some places. Trevin is not pushing dry doctrine but passing on fresh fire that is thousands of years old.”
#1 – Forgive by Timothy Keller
I have three entire shelves in my library just on the topic of forgiveness in personal relationships. Why? You cannot pastor for 25 years and then ‘pastor pastors’ for another 18 and not have to regularly deal with interpersonal conflict, unforgiveness and broken relationships. This book by Tim Keller is the best, most comprehensive treatment of the issue of forgiveness that I have ever read.
It is surgically focused on the current cultural moment in which we find ourselves, where forgiveness is seen by many as an outdated concept. We live in a world where canceling, ghosting and insults are the new norm.
How do we not let those that have hurt us (and we all have a list of people that have hurt us – knowingly or unknowing) turn us into wraiths… walking ghosts, hollow and bitter?
Tim provides a very clear case that is both biblical and relevant to our current cultural moment.
As many of you know, anything Tim Keller writes, I read. He is profoundly biblical and culturally insightful.
