J. C. Ryle
Look to the cross, think of the cross, meditate on the cross, and then go and set your affections on the world if you can.
Coffee Break – 01.25.2016
Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration
On this day in history: In 1533, England’s King Henry VIII secretly married his second wife Anne Boleyn. Boleyn later gave birth to Elizabeth I. In 1870, G. D. Dows patented the ornamental soda fountain. In 1905, the world’s largest diamond was found in South Africa. And in 1915, in New York, Alexander Graham Bell spoke to his assistant in San Francisco, inaugurating the first transcontinental telephone service.
Bonavita Immersion Coffee Dripper Tutorial – I have a few different coffee drippers, notably my Hario V60, but this dripper seems like it would be an great thing to try. You can get one here.
LEGO Kits Of Famous Skylines – My kids love LEGOs. I am fascinated by them to some degree, but have never really jumped in. These could make me do just that.
Great Book Selection For Your Reading Lists – Finding a great list of books that other people have read or are reading is like finding a treasure map. Very often, I add a new book or two to my own list. Here are a couple of lists that have some excellent books on them.
The Mustard Seed – This is a pretty inspiring video, showing just how apt the mustard seed illustration that Jesus used is for the church and faith.
Memorize Scripture: Philippians 4:4-5
As Paul exhorts the believers in Philippi, and specifically the two women named, to unity, he shares what is quite possibly the most recognized portion of this entire letter.
You can see this familiar passage in Philippians 4:4-5:
Paul returns to the theme of the entire letter here, and almost repeats his encouragement from 3:1: Rejoice!
This is no longer a specific entreaty to a couple of people, but a call to the entire church. And his command to rejoice is in the present tense; the church in Philippi is to be in a continual state of rejoicing.
This is not an empty phrase or a thoughtless comment on Paul’s part. In the world the Philippians lived in, sorrow and fear, especially for believers, was a constant threat. They lived in a very hostile world, as do believers today. The Philippian church is called to be in a state of joy, in spite of their circumstances.
And Paul has the authority to command such a thing. Remember where he was as he wrote these words. He was in a Roman prison, and had very little reason to be joyful himself. And yet he does.
Over-value not the manner of your own worship, and over-vilify not other men’s of a different mode.
Richard Baxter
Book Review – Last Act by Craig Shirley
I have mentioned before that I love to read biographical material, and I especially love it when those biographies are about great leaders. When I received Last Act: The Final Years And Emerging Legacy Of Ronald Reagan, I was pretty excited to dig into it.b
Craig Shirley has written extensively about Ronald Reagan before, and his books have been bestsellers. But this book was not all that impressive. I was somewhat disappointed in Last Act.
I knew going in that this book would be different than other biographies that I have read about Reagan. This book is solely focused upon the final years, the death and funeral, and the legacy of one of the greatest Presidents of the twentieth century. Very little of this book is about the years as an actor, or even the years in the Oval Office, except in passing.
The complete focus of Shirley’s work here is primarily on the death and funeral of Ronald Reagan, and the legacy that he left behind. The media hated, and still hates, Reagan. But the American people loved him greatly, and still do. And with that premise, Last Act had the potential to be a great examination of Reagan’s impact.
Sadly, that was not the case. I have not read any of Craig Shirley’s other works to compare, but his writing in this work was scattered and disjointed. He would break into his own thoughts with seemingly random paragraphs, often about American society in general, and give no explanation for why this was included right at that point. It was distracting and made for very difficult reading.
Angels’ Cup Coffee
A Coffee Subscription Unlike Any Other
In a recent edition of Coffee Break, I shared a new coffee subscription service that I had stumbled across, called Angels’ Cup. I was intrigued, and at the time I shared that link, I had not yet sampled their coffee. However, I now have, and I highly recommend that you try it out as well.
Angels’ Cup is a simple concept. When you subscribe, you will receive four packets of coffee from them. These are blind samples, and you don’t know anything about these beans other than that they come from highly talented and very reputable roasters.
As you brew and drink these different samples, you are given the opportunity to really examine the flavors and notes that are in the coffee, refining and finessing your ability to gather and identify the most subtle of flavors and aromas. You can soon become a coffee connoisseur!
However, in addition, and perhaps most importantly, in my opinion, you are given the opportunity to sample the coffee from some of the country’s best roasters, and enjoy some of the best coffee around.
And, best of all, you can save 25% off of your first order! I will share how to do that in a moment.
Book Review – Dinosaurs: Marvels Of God’s Design by Dr. Tim Clarey
I love dinosaurs. And I have since I was a kid. One of the hardest things for a lot of people to reconcile with the Bible is just how these creatures fit into a biblical perspective of history. I know this was a major question for me for a long time.
Fortunately, there are several great resources out there now that explain how dinosaurs fit, and one of the best is a new book by Dr. Tim Clarey, called Dinosaurs: Marvels Of God’s Design, published by Master Books.
Clarey’s book is very comprehensive is scope and contains a ton of information about these animals, both from a biblical perspective as well as a geological and archaeological point of view. In this book, he covers numerous topics, including an overview of the beginning of creation and Noah’s Flood, and how this impacted the dinosaurs. He discusses the age of dinosaurs, and examines the evidence in the rock record and fossils. He looks at the extinction of dinosaurs and their end.
But what may be the most impressive part of this book is the detailed look at several varieties of dinosaurs, including the variations of theropods, sauropods, ornithopods, and more. The level of details he gives is extraordinary, and he does it in a way that almost anyone can comprehend. My eleven year old son absolutely loves this book!