Watch it, rich man!

After James 4:10-5:6 

A fundamental question:

what do you do with

your wealth? What do

you do with all the Lord

has blessed you with?

Riches for the sake

of riches is chasing

after the wind. You

blink your eyes, and

your riches have rotted,

your clothes become rags,

your stocks have crashed,

your banks have closed,

your comfortable life

of indulgence have ended.

You’ve condemned and

defrauded the righteous

person. It is time for you

to weep and howl for

the miseries coming

upon you.

 

Photograph by Jingming Pan via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

“Treasures of TANAKH Hebrew: Hineni,” poem by Brian Volck – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

A Lot of Christian Tech Criticism is Missing Three Important Things – Samuel D. James at Digital Liturgies.

 

Icthus – poem by Andrew Roycroft at New Grub Street.

 

“From Greenland’s Icy Mountains,” hymn by Reginald Heber – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

A pair of sonnets for St. John the Baptist – Malcolm Guite.

 

A Puddle of Pure Joy – Seth Lewis.

Watch your plans!

After James 4:10-5:6 

We believe we’re

in control; we act

as if we control

our lives and

everything that

happens. Watch 

your plans! You

don’t know what

tomorrow brings.

You are a mist,

present for a short

time, and then

you vanish. Make 

your plans in

the Lord’s will,

if God allows it.

He may allow it,

and he may not.

Embrace humility;

embrace direction

from the one,

the only one, truly

in control.

 

Photograph by Alvaro Reyes via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

Is My Pain God’s Punishment? – Vaneetha Rendall Risner at Desiring God.

 

What We Learned from Dad – the team at Story Warren.

 

A Prayer for Father’s Day – Yuri Bezmenov at How to Subvert Subversion.

Watch your tongue!

After James 4:10-5:6 

Watch your tongue;

don’t speak evil

against your brother.

If you do, you

become a judge,

not of the behavior,

but a judge of the law,

a judge against 

the law. That means

you become one

who judges, not

one who obeys the law,

one who lives the law.

You try to turn

yourself into the one,

the only one, who

can truly judge,

the one who saves.

Sometimes, all times,

Keep your tongue

in your mouth, and

keep your mouth closed.

 

Photograph: The Day of Judgment by William Blake; Art Institute of Chicago via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

From “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

When Innovation Isn’t the Answer – Darryl Dash at Dashhouse.

 

What Do You When You Fail? – Jeffrey Stivason at Gentle Reformation.

 

“In the Sweet By-and-By,” hymn by Sanford Fillmore Bennett – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.