This, That, & the Other: 9/26-10/2/2021

An article to read

Peaceful and Quiet Living by Kyle Borg

Tabletalk’s September 2021 issue is a gold mine of helpful articles. This one by Kyle Borg explains what 1 Thessalonians 4:11 means when it says “aspire to live a quiet life.” It is an incredibly helpful and practical explanation of the text. I especially appreciated Borg’s contrasting the way of life 1 Thessalonians 4:11 presents with the typical lifestyle of our modern culture. If you want a reminder of what a Biblical lifestyle is, take 15 minutes to read and consider this excellent article.

A teaching to listen to

Healing of the Man at the Gate Beautiful by Martin Lloyd-Jones

If you have never taken the time to listen to this sermon by Lloyd-Jones, make time this week. In a powerful exposition and evangelistic call, Lloyd-Jones explains how this miracle in Acts 3:6 is a perfect picture of the Gospel. I also appreciate how clearly Lloyd-Jones explains what the Church and her mission is (and what heris not). This is a sermon I always think back to when I need encouragement or a reminder of the central truths of the Gospel.

A quote to consider

For a close, remember this, that your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure; therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and heaven shall make amends for all.

Thomas Brooks

A product to buy

One Sheet Eats: 100+ Delicious Recipes All Made on a Baking Sheet

I have written before about recipes to make when practicing hospitality. In that post, I said the best recipes for serving to larger groups are easily scalable, require cheap ingredients, and have a broad appeal. A friend recommended this cookbook to my wife and me a couple weeks ago and it includes tons of recipes that meet these criteria. Sheet pan cooking is incredibly simple too: you make the whole meal on a single baking sheet. The recipes themselves are delicious. You should purchase this cookbook if you need a set of recipes to pull from when hosting.

A recipe to try

Five Spice Chicken Thighs with Apples and Sweet Potatoes

This is one of the recipes from the above cook book that my wife and I tried. I love sweet potatoes, and by combining sweet potatoes with apples, this easy dish becomes the perfect “fall” meal. I used cubed chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, but the result was still excellent. I haven’t used Chinese five spice before and I was pleasantly surprised by it’s sweetness and subtle licorice flavor. Give this recipe a try if you want to test out a “One Sheet Eats” recipe.

A question for reflection

What is one thing in your life right now that is distracting you from focusing on your hope of eternal life in Christ?

Sunday morning worship is always a high point of my week. Yet, every week I am amazed at how quickly my perspective can shift from focusing on heavenly things to getting tangled up in the cares of the world. I leave Sunday morning with my heart filled with joy in the gospel only to find myself struggling to find time to study God’s word by Wednesday.

Distractions are some of the biggest causes of this loss of focus on Christ. These distractions can take many forms: busyness, laziness, too much entertainment, your own emotions, even things that are good in and of themselves can distract you. So how can you deal with these distractions and get your mind “set on things above, not on the things of the earth”?

The first step to dealing with distractions is first asking yourself what those distractions are. What is keeping you from focusing on Christ fully today? Is it a difficult relationship? Perhaps an unexpected circumstance? Is there a sin you are neglecting to repent of? Are you letting your emotions control your mind?

By asking these diagnostic questions, you can figure out what specifically to pray to the Lord for help in. Rather than asking “God, help me to focus on you today” you can instead say “Lord, I have not been controlling my emotions this week and they are distracting me from focusing on you and on Christ. Please calm my mind and heart. Strengthen me to focus on Christ and the joy set before me.” Take time this week to reflect on what distracts you spiritually and then spend time asking the Lord to aid you in combating these distractions.

A truth that is impacting me

…as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Philippians 3:6-8 ESV, emphasis added

This week, I have been reading through Philippians and there have been many truths that have stood out to me. What stood out to me most in the passage above is the contrast Paul makes between his own “righteousness” that he had through the law and the righteousness of Christ. I realized I don’t often think of the surpassing value of Christ’s righteousness like Paul does.

How much do you value Christ’s righteousness? Do you imagine this righteousness is a slightly-more-perfect version of your own? How much more righteous and perfect and holy is Jesus than you and I? These were the questions I found myself asking. Paul, when he thought of Christ’s righteousness, looked at his own righteousness and said “this is garbage!” Why? Because of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.”

When you value Christ’s righteousness as infinite, that puts quite a few things in perspective. In my own life, I often fall into the false thinking that Jesus “fills in the gaps” of my own righteousness. But this could not be further from the truth: Christ’s righteousness is as far from your righteousness as the farthest star is from the earth. You and I don’t even fully have concept of the greatness of Jesus’ righteousness. But we need to see the value of Christ’s righteousness to the extent Paul does in Philippians to see our desperate need of Jesus.

Jesus is not extra. He is everything.

This post is part of an ongoing series “This, That, & the Other.” For other tools I have created to aid you in Bible Study and Church life, visit the “Tools” page. If you found this post helpful, share it below and subscribe to get resources like this delivered into your inbox. Follow The Average Churchman on Instagram to get more curated resources.