Pray For Your church: 31 Day challenge—Day Thirteen

Mike Leake

Day 13: That we would stand firm

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. (2 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV)

Standing firm in traditions will get you a bad rap in our day. Granted, there are some traditions which are not worth standing upon. This is further seen by the fact that a majority of times this word is used in the New Testament it is upon the lips of Jesus condemning the Pharisees for clinging to their traditions. But there are also some traditions which are grounded in the gospel and which we ought to stand firm upon. What we are really to be standing firm upon is the apostolic tradition as given to us in Word of God. The word itself comes from a military formation. What this means is that believers—and churches—should not break rank. Regardless of the cultural climate around us we must remain faithful.

Father, you have graciously communicated your will to us through your Word. Help us as a church to boldly stand firm on your Word to us. There are times when it can be tempting to compromise. Protect us from ourselves and from the fear of man. Give us the courage to stand firmly and to not break rank. Give us the boldness to die upon the hills we should die and to not bother climbing the ones which are the mere traditions of men. Grant us the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

Lessons From Being Behind the Rest of the Blogosphere

Mike Leake 1 Comment

For our regular readers you’ve likely grown accustom to a little feature I’ve called Today in Blogworld. I started this feature a long time ago in part to keep myself from hosting a rotting blog. I also love to put good material in front of people.

So every morning for the past few years I’ve scrolled through Feedly and bookmarked any article that even remotely looks interesting. Then when I go to write up the Today in Blogworld post I go back through the favorites and find four articles and a video from those saved lists. For the first few years the articles I shared were usually pretty fresh (1-2 days old). Now, my links aren’t all that fresh—in fact I’m about 10-12 days behind.

And I’m totally cool with that. I’ve learned a few things being so far “behind” the rest of the blogosphere. Here are a few things I’m learning.

1. What you find really significant today and you just have to write about, is likely going to be old news in about a week. Today as I sifted through the articles from a couple weeks ago a ton of them were about red cups. I won’t be linking to a single one because nobody really cares anymore. Some dudes are really good at this type of stuff, I’m not. While speaking to the outrage of the day is much needed, I’d rather write something that might still be relevant a year from now.

2. If you can pull yourself out of the echo chamber there really are some great pieces being written. Trying to keep up with the hot items of the day keeps you trapped in an echo chamber. This is why I confessed last year about this time that I was getting bored with blogs. I’m less bored now.

3. It’s giving some articles a longer shelf-life. On occasion I’ll notice that one of these older articles that I linked to gets picked up by other blog curators. I love adding shelf-life to good articles.

4. More and more articles are being written to sell books. I don’t know if I would have noticed this if I were doing my sifting in smaller, daily chunks as I had been. But I’m finding more and more that the whole purpose of writing an article is to sell a book. I find that interesting.

What does all of this mean? For me it simply reinforces what I’ve believed for awhile; namely, write for the eternal good of the audience God has given you.

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Photo source: here

Today in Blogworld 11.20.15

Mike Leake

J.C. Ryle’s 8 Symptoms of False Teaching

And this was written over 100 years ago.

The Gift of Anxiety

“We lose the fear of man very quickly when we’re just trying to get through a day without a melt down.”

Eschatological Breakfasts

This really warmed my heart—and made me hungry for breakfast.

3 Unexpected Places to Find Community

This is the type of article one needs to save and then build something around.

Alanis Morissette hilariously updates ‘Ironic’ for the digital age:

Pray For Your church: 31 Day Challenge—Day Twelve

Mike Leake

Day 12: That we would bear one another’s burdens

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2 ESV)

I see two admonitions in this passage. One of them is to be the type of person who will bear the burdens of a struggling brother. In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul mentions those who are “weak” and he encourages others to “help” them. The words used there bring to mind the concept of being the legs of the legless. This, in part, is what it means to shoulder the load of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The other person in this text is the one who has the heavy load he is lifting. He too has an admonition in this verse. We must drop our self-reliance and realize that we have brothers and sisters in the church who God has sovereignly ordained to help us. And so we truly are called to bear one another’s burdens. We are in this together. When you hurt, I hurt. When you are overjoyed, I’m overjoyed.

Father, I thank you for giving us the church. Thank you for brothers and sisters in Christ who pray for me. Thank you for those who willing shoulder some of my load. Help me to be vulnerable and to allow people to help. In the same way, help me be a conduit of your grace and care. Give me the strength to bear the burdens that my brothers and sisters face. May we fight sin together and with one heart and mind grab hold of Christ—who is our portion forever. Amen.