Top Retellings of Classic Tales

Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 18

June 10, 2024

Surrounded by His Strength

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm 125:2)

If you have ever taken a trip to the mountains, you can picture this. You can see them for miles and miles on your approach. When you begin your climb into them, either on foot or in a car, it feels like losing yourself in a different world. Upon arriving at your destination–a cabin or lodge–you step out on the deck and take in the vista. And all you can see is ridge upon peak upon ridge of mountains. You are surrounded, a tiny being protected on all sides by a fortress of God’s own making. So the Lord protects his people. We are tiny beings, surrounded by his strength and might and massiveness. Every which way we look, He is there, further than the eye can see, guarding us and protecting us. He is impregnable, unassailable. So we can rest in the safety of his presence and care. Not just today, not just tomorrow, “from this time forth and forevermore.” God is our refuge and protection forever. The only way to lose it is to leave. So long as we are with Him, we are encompassed by the mountainous protection of God.

I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe! 

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Published on June 10, 2024 03:58

June 7, 2024

3 Things I Like this Week – June 7

Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

1. The Road to Rickwood

This month MLB will host a game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL. In its 114-year history, the field has seen everything from segregated baseball, a women’s suffrage event, a Klan rally and the first integrated sports team in Alabama. Host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with historians, former Negro Leaguers and more to explore how Birmingham’s civil rights story played out at America’s oldest ballpark. If you are a fan of history or baseball or both, you will love this podcast. It is a wonderful blend of oral history, documentary, and historical account.

 

2. On Writing (And Writers) by CS Lewis

If you are a fan of C.S. Lewis, and aspiring writer, or a successful author you will love this compilation. It highlights Lewis’s brilliance about writing as it addresses form, purpose, style, message, and more featuring over one hundred excerpts—some short and some essay length—drawn from his wide body of letters, books, and essays. This has climbed into my pantheon of writing resources both to help with craft and inspiration. I could not recommend it more highly.

 

3. The Country Squire Tobbaconist

In recent years I have mostly moved from cigar smoking to pipe smoking, mostly because a cigar is an hour-long relationship whereas a pipe is a pleasant 15-20 minute conversation. (Also, my wife finds the smell of cigar smoke utterly vile whereas the aroma of pipe smoke is merely mildly unpleasant.) There are some good tobacconists in Nashville where I live, but a friend turned me on to The Country Squire in Jackson Mississippi. They have wonderful blends of all sorts (I particularly like Tom Bigbee and Black & Tan), their prices and shipping costs are quite reasonable, and they also have a delightful selection of pipes. If you are a pipe person (or a thoughtful gift giver) check them out.

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Published on June 07, 2024 05:20

June 6, 2024

Curious Curmudgeons Episode 6: Parenthood Failures, Lessons, & Laughs

Join us as we explore the transitions of parenting. With nearly two decades of experience raising children each, we reflect on becoming parents and the continuous changes at each stage of our children’s lives. From the sleepless nights of infancy to the bittersweet moments of preparing our children for college, we share invaluable lessons learned, the shifting priorities over time, and the wisdom and humility gained along the way.

We discuss the steep learning curve of early parenthood. We explore the dynamics, challenges, and joys of guiding them through social situations, developmental changes, and the quest for self-identity during the school years. Through personal anecdotes, we highlight the meaningful conversations that provide glimpses of growth and grace amidst the chaos. And as our children transition to high school and beyond, we address the unique challenges of nurturing their independence while fostering critical thinking and individuality.

Listen to Episode 6

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Published on June 06, 2024 06:16

June 5, 2024

June 4, 2024

Questions About Faith and Doubt with Mark Sayers

Mark Sayers is an author I deeply respect whose work has encouraged and taught me much in recent year. He is the Senior Leader of Red Church. and is the author of several books including Facing Leviathan: Leadership, Influence, and Creating in a Cultural Storm, Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience, and Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture. Mark lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife Trudi, daughter Grace, and twin boys Hudson and Billy. 

1) What does “I believe; help my unbelief” mean to you?

I find this verse a wonderfully human utterance. It is not a philosophical statement written in a dusty academic book, but rather a live statement that emerges from the heart of a father who wishes to see his son’s torment end. It is a desire for faith that emerges from a flesh and blood man, just like me, who is filled with reason, emotion and desire. A man who wishes for faith, but who acknowledges the desert of unbelief within him. The beauty of this verse is that it is spoken in the presence of the Christ who has come to conquer such unbelief.

2) Do you have a favorite Bible passage about belief and doubt? What is it and how has it impacted you?

Probably the woman who was healed by Jesus in Matthew 9, after touching the hem of his garment. Here is this woman who must have been overcome by doubts, yet at the same time filled with faith. As someone who had been bleeding for twelve years she was religiously unclean, and naturally would have worried that by touching Jesus she could have made Him unclean, what would his response be? Anger? Disgust? How would the crowd react? Would she experience even more marginalization? And yet amongst what have been so many doubts, this bold faith. A faith which is rewarded. Jesus feels power go from him. This woman who must have been caught in a mix of doubt, shame, faith and hope experiences both healing and the power of God. Such an incredible moment.

3) What is belief in God?

For me my belief in God is multilayered. Today we reduced belief to a correlation of facts, coldly noted and adhered to. I believe that belief in God is so much more. Reason and facts are in there, but so is revelation, knowing, relationship, love. Belief in God is as Leslie Newbigin described it as being in the middle of a story, there is so much we know and can attest to, and at the same time we have to have faith in the goodness of the writer and main actor in the story, that he has covered the parts of the story that we cannot see from our vantage point.

4) What do you see as the relationship between belief and doubt?

Doubt is the blank parts of the canvas which is being filled with the color of belief.

5) How can a person strengthen their belief in God?

Pray that dangerous prayer that God will reveal himself to you no matter the cost. Remember that Christianity is a walking faith, to be put into action and practiced. Read God’s word, actually try doing the stuff that Jesus spoke of. Immerse yourself in the lives of the heroes of the faith, learn from their faith and their doubts. Don’t forget that Christianity is a community faith, to be lived with others, others who can sustain and encourage you when doubt comes.

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Published on June 04, 2024 04:28

June 3, 2024