Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 53

Links I like (3/08)

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The Right Kind of Mysticism

Jared Wilson:

Christian mysticism seeks to describe an experienced, direct, nonabstract, unmediated, loving knowledge of God, a knowing or seeing so direct as to be called union with God.

I thought I might offer a few further thoughts myself, especially in providing some guardrails for our understanding (and practice) of the right kind of mysticism.

C. J. Mahaney Withdraws from T4G

Kate Shellnutt:

Over the past several weeks, Rachael Denhollander, the former gymna...

Good news for the weary

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In our community group last night, our group leader shared this passage from Isaiah as an encouragement to all of us, especially those who are worn out:

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
there is no limit to his understanding.
He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
but those who trust in the Lord
will re...

Links I like (3/06)

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Podcast: How do we keep our focus on the gospel when reading and studying the New Testament? Brian and I discuss on the latest episode of The Hero of the Story.

3 Christian Perspectives on Time

Michael Kelley:

But for Christians, doing this means having a unique perspective on time, one informed by God’s Word. The Christian should, then, view time through the lens of Scripture and have that perspective shaped by a few key truths:

We Don’t Need To Go Back To The Early Church

Jeff Medders:

Pe...

What I read in February

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Another month has come and gone, and with it more reading! As you know, I am always consuming books, whether they’re physical, digital or audio. Every month, I like to share a breakdown of everything I read, including the books I abandoned. I do this because it gives me an opportunity to introduce you to books you might not have had an opportunity to read while practicing the art of writing concise book reviews.

In February, I read 9 books to completion, read one of those twice, and started...

The one story of the Bible

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One of the things I love about reading the Bible is seeing how everything fits together. And one of the great joys of my life as a believer has been seeing when people “get” it—when that “aha” moment happens when they realize the point, because it’s something that is always so fresh in my mind. It’s a truth I’m continually rediscovering because, as Edmund Clowney wrote, “it is possible to know Bible stories, yet miss the Bible story.”

My default mode, and presumably yours as well, is to trea...

Weekend reading (3/03)

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The Gospel, The Christian, and The Past

Jason Allen:

Here’s the thing: it’s not just you. Everyone’s past is marked by, at least to some degree, foolish words, reckless decisions, and sinful acts. Everyone’s! Many would-be followers of Christ and even many Christians live with persistent, suffocating guilt. They question whether Christ will truly forgive them for what they have done. They feel they will never measure up spiritually, and thus are assigned to second-class Christian status. But...

Are audiobooks books—really?

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Reading Writers is back with a new episode this week, and we’re getting even more controversial as we discuss:

What books are best to consume in an audio format The surprise connection between Steve Martin and Stormie O’Martian; and Whether or not you should click “read” on Goodreads when you finish an audiobook.

Among the many books we discuss:

Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt The Martian by Andy Weir Bossypants  by Tina Fey Born Standing Up  by Steve Martin The Curious Christian by Barn...

Links I like (3/01)

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The latest episode of The Hero of the Story is up now on iTunes. In this episode, Brian and I wrap our discussion on gospel threads in the Old Testament. Be sure to subscribe and leave a review on iTunes.

Does Twitter destroy creativity?

Although it’s targeted specifically at comics, this is a good question to be asking.

Little Words That Make All the Difference

Tim Challies:

We are often called upon to help. We, who are a bit more seasoned, a bit more experienced, a bit more knowledgeable...

Why does God ask us to do strange things sometimes? (interview)

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We’ve all wondered this: we look at the Scriptures and see God commanding his people to do some pretty strange things (especially in the minor prophets). And if that weren’t difficult enough, there’s everything the New Testament tells us about being followers of Jesus. And then there’s the personal level things that you can’t quite quantify as God commanding or asking or anything like that.

Like moving countries in the midst of one of the most contentious election cycles in recent memory.

Re...

Links I like (2/27)

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The latest episode of The Hero of the Story is up now on iTunes. In this episode, Brian and I begin a discussion on gospel threads in the Old Testament. Look for the second part later this week, and be sure to subscribe and leave a review on iTunes.

9 Bible Verses For Depression To Shine Light Into Darkness

Stephen Altrogge:

There’s this weird idea in some Christian circles that the moment you change your thinking your feelings will also change. That as you read these Bible verses for depre...