Stopping to Think

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Oaths and Vows Let your yes be a yes, and your no be a no— Be full true here below, and use God’s Name to bless. The Kingdom For Thine is the Kingdom and power and the glory; The King in His beauty is the center of the Story. From His garden temple, which He planted and called Eden, Adam and his line were expelled, on account of treason. Across the years rebellion grew until it reached full measur...

For a number of years I’ve used Goodreads to track my reading. I’m in the process of moving all of that tracking over to a spreadsheet, as I’ve found the value I used to find on Goodreads is drastically outweighed by the time I waste there. But what to do with the short reviews I also liked to write on that platform? Well, I’m moving those to handwritten form—which makes me think more clearly and...

I’m puttering my way through a project wherein I write poems inspired by each of the 90-some headings in JI Packer’s book, Concise Theology . Here are a couple of them from the middle of the pack— Love God is love— Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. What doth He desire most? Return it. Give this gift to those who bear Image. Our patrilineage from above. Hope Help for our endurance race, built upon the b...

Bible Study Conversations Over the years, I’ve had occasion to read through the Bible—in part or in whole—with several folks. And, especially for people who are new to it, one of the concerns they have is an understandable one: how can I understand this great big book? Christianity has been around for two thousand years, and people who claim to be Christian, and claim to value the Bible, disagree...

Prefer to print and read? Here is this article in pdf form. The Fakeness of the Machine The other day I was scrolling though substack—which feels different than scrolling through other parts of the social internet, but frankly, I’m not convinced it’s any more productive—when I came across this gem of a note by Griffin Gooch: This made me laugh—because it was 1) boring, 2) insipid, and 3) very clea...

Psalm 77 :1, I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord. In the night my hand is stretched out without wearying. My soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan. When I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah. In this psalm, the author is crying out to God. He feels abandoned by the Lord. He continues in verses 7 through 9 , Will the Lord...

This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . And the previous post here. We believe that Jesus “ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” Why is it important to believe that Jesus ascended and then—wonder of wonders—sat down? The ascension is, of course, simply the plain teaching of...

Familiar Words, Fresh Conviction Matthew chapter 7 contains many familiar words, but when I read them recently, I found them convicting afresh. Here, towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, ‏ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it wil...

The One and the Three approach His glory— Behold His splendor, may my heart render Praise Sinful heart and hands from Your Presence banned until I'm made clean. Inner truth seen— Confess Joy! Your mercy more, My heart shall adore— Bless Your name above; Give for steadfast love Thanks With Your word fill me, and let my speech be a word is season— guard me from treason I pray Stopping to Think is a...

* Give your children work to do * It needs to be real work, not just busy work. * Don’t make excuses for them * That just teaches them to make excuses for themselves * You don’t want that. * Make sure they have enough activities * Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop * And they need to be able to handle adult responsibilities when they get older * Which will be impossible if they spend half their t...

This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . He Rose Again We believe that on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. Having just finished the Easter season, wherein we celebrated Resurrection Sunday, we remember that this is the central confession of all of Christianity. Yes, Jesus died in our place. Yes, he bore our sins...

This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . He Descended Into Hell  As we have been for the past several months, today we continue moving phrase by phrase through the Apostles’ Creed. Today we come to a sticky one: he descended into hell. That is a weird phrase. It’s also worth noting that it’s not in the earliest version...

I occasionally like to do a little run-down on those things I’m reading and enjoying…or maybe not enjoying. And in this case, I’ll touch on a little beyond reading as well. Reading Last year I read Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft. Sitting with that book was one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I’ve ever had. So for Christmas I put his other books on my wish list. I finally just...

Tonight our church comes to the sixth of Jesus’ seven saying from the cross: “It is Finished.” This is the text of that sermon. It is Finished Why is Good Friday called “good”? How could the day of the history’s greatest crime—the unjust execution of the only innocent man to ever live—be a “good” day? The answer is found in three simple words which Jesus uttered from the cross: “It is finished.” W...

You can read the original article here This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

You can read the original post here: Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

The original post: Thanks for reading Stopping to Think! This post is public so feel free to share it. Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

Today I’m reading from this piece in my newsletter backlog: The part which I am reading was inspired by this Substack post by Samuel James This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

The original post: Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

Before you read anything I write - this really is more important: Cards on the Table This is a newsletter post about preaching. Obviously, my target audience here is other pastors. But I hope it will be instructive for any believer as they consider the practice in their own church (especially if you are in leadership and have the structural/institutional ability to effectively encourage faithfulne...

I read today a piece from Samuel James over at The Gospel Coalition, which made me think of this piece that I wrote here last year. I’m reading it today on the podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . The previous post can be found here. He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate We believe - that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Now, if you are familiar with the gospel narratives, this part of our confession in the Creed isn’t exactly a newsflash. Pilate plays an important role...

This is not a typical Stopping to Think post. I’m planning to re-start some of my story writing efforts this year, and I’ll post some of those in this feed, as they will - in content, if not style - fit in with a lot of what I normally touch on in this space. However, this is a little story I submitted to “The Dole Weekly”, the newsletter that my oldest daughter has occasionally put together in ou...

Link to the original piece: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/are-you-afraid-to-die? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe