Are You Curious?
I don’t know a whole lot about what I’ll be doing in March, but I know I’d love to be checking out Barnabas Piper’s new book The Curious Christian. While I wait (with bated breath, whatever that means..), I can content my curiosity by checking out his 12 Ways to be a Curious Person. In this teaser to the book, Piper outlines ways in which curiosity is a gift from God which we are to engage for our growth and his glory. Alongside encouragements to explore, ask (and really listen!), read, and try new things, he reminds us
Curiosity is about God and for God. It is an expression of worship and it honors Him by exploring the depths and breadth of His creation and nature. If we are to do something that honors God then we must know Him and scripture is where He reveals Himself, where He tells what we need to know for a right and vibrant relationship with Him. For this reason scripture is where our curiosity should be directed first and most consistently, not as a book or a text or a resource but as a revelation of our Creator. We should apply every step – look, listen, record, ask, explore, try, and read – to it with rigor and constancy. Without scripture all our other curiosity is at great risk of pursuing falsehood. Scripture is our plumb line, our compass. Every discovery we make can be stacked up against it, so we must, must, return to it time and again.
Why Simple Wins
Each day, more than one hundred billion e-mails are sent and received, but fewer than a seventh of them are actually important. On his journey towards digital detox in 2017, David Murray discusses a book that can help all of us to see the necessity – and possibility – of simplicity. As someone who feels the need to multitask but knows it to be a bad decision, I found a desire (more like a conviction that led to a desire) in the Six Characteristics of a Simplifier. Maybe you will too.
Opposites Attract
This article by Leslie Schmucker provides a valuable reminder for all those who wonder if they’ve married the wrong person because differences seem endless and love languages don’t align. Her words are a wonderful, humbling reminder that Christ calls us to remain steadfast, and gives us not only the strength to do so, but she writes “I am still very far from conquering my relentless regard for self … but I know that our yoke is held firm by the One who put it there.”
Sound Theology: Keith Getty on Teaching your Congregation through Song
As someone who loves leading people in times of congregational worship, I resonate strongly with Keith Getty’s passion for teaching through song. Every bit as important as the words delivered from the pulpit are the lyrics chosen by the worship leader each week; and often these words set to catchy tunes linger in the minds of the singers long after the sermon has faded. Getty does well to remind those who select songs about the weight of responsibility they bear for discipling their congregation as they sing.
The Leap of Faith
Although I’m a long way from being a die-hard fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, I’ve clocked up my own fair share of game hours and can appreciate the faithfulness with which the screen adaptation portrayed a world I’m familiar with. Satisfaction with the characters and choreography aside, learning that the leap of faith (a 125 foot head-first free fall) was performed for real by the stunt man definitely next-leveled the film for me. Check out this impressive feat below.
