 Don’t buy me flowers, chocolate, or jewelry. Just take me to Barnes & Noble or hand me an Amazon gift card. Sound familiar?
If you’re like me, you may have a serious condition that requires regular infusions of reading. The only problem is that books are not always cheap. So how do we keep up with our reading habits without breaking the bank? Here are some ways I’ve been able to consume large amounts of words without going bankrupt. As always, use discernment when stocking up on your book supplements. Tim Challies’ Kindle Deals You can sign up (for free) to receive his daily email, which includes Kindle book deals (both Christian and general market). His newsletter also includes links to various blogs that may be of interest to Christians—because we also need to keep up with micro-doses of reading encouragement. BookBub With BookBub, you can choose your preferred genres and receive a daily email featuring ebooks on sale in those categories. It’s an easy way to discover discounted books without doing the searching yourself. Libby If you have a library card, Libby is an excellent way to stay nourished with books. You can borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free through the app and read/listen directly on your device. Spotify Premium Spotify Premium now includes a selection of audiobooks. It’s a great way to squeeze in an extra reading workout session without adding another subscription. Kindle Unlimited Instead of subscribing every month, keep a running list of books available on Kindle Unlimited. Then, when you’re ready, subscribe for one month. You can cancel immediately so it doesn’t auto-renew, and focus on reading only from your curated list during that time. Amazon Prime Digital Credits If you use Amazon Prime, you can sometimes choose slower shipping in exchange for digital credits—which can then be used toward Kindle books. It’s a simple way to turn patience into reading material. Start a Library at Your Church Church libraries can be an amazing resource, especially when they’re built intentionally. Consider donating books or organizing a small lending library so your community can share good reads. Book Swaps with Friends Get together with a few friends, decide on books you all want to read, and each buy one. Then trade them around. It’s an easy way to multiply your reading list without multiplying your spending. With a little creativity, a few subscriptions, and some strategic borrowing, you can keep your book habit well-fed without financial regret. Happy reading! See also: Avoiding Readers Remorse When Stories Don’t Match Real Life
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 Life can be filled with seasons of joy, but it also brings struggles, questions, disappointments, and suffering. Biblical counseling is an opportunity to meet together, study God's Word, and seek His wisdom for the challenges you are facing.
What Is Biblical Counseling? Biblical counseling is a one on one discipleship-centered ministry that applies the truths of Scripture to the real struggles of life. Rather than relying on secular psychology or traditional clinical therapy models, biblical counseling seeks lasting heart change through God's Word, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of this approach, biblical counseling may differ significantly from secular counseling, mental health treatment, or clinical therapy techniques. Biblical counseling is also different from “Christian counseling” that incorporates psychological theories alongside Scripture. Counselors can address a variety of issues including suffering, coping with long-term illness, anxiety, additions, fear, relationship issues, grief, abuse, and much more. Certification and Accountability The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) is an international organization dedicated to training and certifying counselors who are committed to the sufficiency of Scripture for helping people navigate the challenges of life. Certification requires extensive training, examinations, supervised counseling experience, and agreement with established doctrinal and ethical standards. Counselors also participate in ongoing continuing education to maintain their certification. ACBC-certified counselors seek to provide compassionate, Christ-centered care that is firmly grounded in God's Word while serving under the oversight of a local church. What You Can Expect ACBC counselors are committed to:
Your Commitment Biblical counseling is most effective when it is approached as an active discipleship relationship. As a counselee, you will be encouraged to:
Growth rarely happens overnight. As we faithfully apply God's Word day by day, He continues His work of transforming us into the likeness of Christ. Our Foundation The goal of biblical counseling is not simply to solve problems, but to help people know Christ more deeply and faithfully follow Him in every circumstance. Lasting hope is found not in our own strength, but in the sufficient wisdom of God's Word and the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." — 2 Timothy 3:16–17 If you would like more information about biblical counseling, you can email [email protected] or you can search for an ACBC counselor at this link: https://biblicalcounseling.com/find-a-counselor/.  As I was working on the Friendship blog series, I remembered a poem I wrote a long time ago. This is dedicated to my best friend who has known me longer than anyone else (besides my parents). We lost touch soon after high school, but God brought us back together again ten years later. We have had our rough spots through the years, but through it all we have grown closer to each other and to Christ. Through the Years From watching lightning bugs in the backyard To watching toddler shows on repeat From picking out prom dresses To choosing the right kind of diaper From getting lost on the back roads To chasing the kids through the house From sharing snacks at high school lunch To cleaning sticky fingers at the kitchen table From wishing for a weekend date To waiting for working husbands From sharing secrets at slumber parties To complaining about aches by text From young and full of life To not-so-young and scrounging for spoons From laughter and smiles To discouragement and pain From decades of pilgrimage through the already, not yet To eons of immortality in the new heavens and earth Brought together by Him Held together by grace Thank you my friend, my sister in Christ See also: Foundations of Friendship Living out friendship The Overflow of Friendship  So far we’ve looked at the foundation of gospel-centered friendship (Part 1) and practical examples of what that looks like (Part 2). Now we’ll finish our study of Colossians 3:12-17 as we strive to build friendships shaped by the gospel. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. As we look at the final part of this passage, we see the overflow of relationships that have been built on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. Each of these traits is motivated by love. Because God showed us love even when we didn’t deserve it, we can do the same. We can persevere in love even when relationships are difficult because we know that we are always loved by God. Love motivates and love unites. As we pursue friendships that are bound in unity, peace will be evident. This isn’t necessarily a pleasant feeling of calmness or lack of tension. Rather, it is referring to the peace that we have because we have been reconciled to God and to each other through the union we have with Christ. There will still be disagreements and tension along the way. We will still make wrong turns. But we know that even though the road has some bumps, we are on the same road, heading to the same destination. As we continuously reorient our focus on love and unity, we can find ways to show gratitude for our friendships and what God has done for us. Paul’s letters are filled with examples of how to show thankfulness:
Just as we saw with compassion, gentleness, and the other “put on” qualities in Colossians 3, thankfulness isn’t just a positive personality trait, or a pleasant feeling toward others. Thankfulness is evident through actions and words. We need to frequently and directly express our appreciation for our friends, what they do, and how they are growing in Christlikeness. We also need to talk to each other about what God has done for us and how God is working in our lives. As Colossians 3 explains, thankfulness can be demonstrated through singing together. Sometimes when relationships are hard, we don’t feel like being with those people. We may want to take time away from gathering together with them at church. But those are the times when we need each other the most. Those are the times when we need to worship together and remember the things that unite us. Through Christ, what unites us is stronger than what divides us. Ultimately, no relationship will fulfill us. And we can never be the perfect friend that someone else is looking for. The broken parts of friendships and the longing for something better remind us to look to Jesus. He is the friend of sinners. Jesus is the friend who gave his life for us. He understands our weaknesses. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Jesus is compassionate, kind, humble, patient, and forgiving. Jesus is the love that unites us. He is the peace that rules in our hearts. Friendship shaped by the gospel isn’t about being the perfect friend. It begins and ends with following the perfect Friend.  Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. In Part 1 of our Friendship series, we looked at Colossians 3:12-17 and learned that the foundations of a gospel-centered, God-glorifying friendship (or any relationship) are already present in our lives. Because of who we are in Christ (chosen, holy, and beloved), it is possible for us to put into practice the qualities in the passage. Now, in Part 2 we will see what each of these look like amidst the messiness of real-life relationships.
Compassion Compassion means “to suffer with”. Compassion doesn’t stand at a distance, but steps into someone else’s pain. It isn’t just pity or feeling bad for someone. When the gospels tell us that Jesus had compassion on someone, we see that he took action to help the person (Luke 7:11-15; Matthew 14:14-21). Compassion can be seen in actions like praying with someone, offering a listening ear, or giving them a shoulder to cry on. Real compassion makes the time to spend with someone and moves towards someone in pain, not away from them. Kindness Kindness is the quality of being considerate and selfless in our interactions. It is not simply smiling and being friendly. When we see the word “kindness” in the Bible, we notice that it is an action that steps into someone else’s life for their good. David showed kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9). The islanders showed kindness to Paul and his shipmates (Acts 28). Kindness is sharing what we have to help others. We can take a few extra minutes to pick up something at the store for a friend who is sick. We can send a text with an encouraging verse to someone who is struggling. Kindness costs something, even if it’s a small gesture. Humility Humility is the ability to understand ourselves clearly, especially in light of our own weaknesses and sinful tendencies. We consider others’ interests before our own (Philippians 2:3-4). This doesn’t mean we become doormats who never address a concern or voice our opinions. When we disagree with a friend or feel hurt, we remember that we are not perfect. It is important to pray and ask God to show us where we can change or be a better friend (Matthew 5:23-24; Galatians 6:1-4). Humility listens before it speaks and examines before it reacts. Gentleness Gentleness, or meekness, is not weakness. It is strength under control. Jesus, the Almighty Creator, describes himself as gentle in Matthew 11:28-31. When a friend is weary or burdened, we can point them to Jesus as the source of rest and comfort. If we need to correct a friend who is struggling with sin, we do this because we want to see them grow in Christlikeness. We approach them with care, humility, and a desire to restore them to an unhindered relationship with God and others. Gentleness speaks the truth in love and with care. Patience While compassion means to “suffer with”, patience means to “suffer long”. When we attempt to offer correction to a friend, they may not see their weaknesses or understand how they may have hurt us. If a friend is facing difficult circumstances that last a long time, can we “suffer long” with them? Whether it is a chronic health condition, a defiant child, a broken marriage, or difficulties at work, we need to be willing to listen and care for them as long as it takes. Patience doesn’t lose hope when nothing seems to change. Forgiveness Forgiveness is an expression of grace. We have been reconciled with God and we follow that same pattern by extending forgiveness to others. It will take time for someone to regain our trust, and we won’t automatically forget what happened. But we must be willing to forgive so that bitterness doesn’t grow in our lives. When we realize we have done something to hurt a friend, we should quickly admit our wrongdoing and take concrete actions to make things right. Forgiveness is an extension of humility. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness are not easy. We will not be able to live these out perfectly. Our relationships will be messy and broken. But God redeems what is broken and uses our friendships for his glory and our good. When our friends aren’t patient or we fail to show kindness, we ask God and one other for forgiveness. Then we move forward in hope, knowing that in the new creation, we will live in perfect unity with God and one another. In the next post, we will look closely at the end of the Colossians 3:12-17 passage to see how love, unity, peace, and thankfulness shape gospel-centered friendships.  You had to cancel that coffee date with your friend. You stick to the safe subjects when you talk, because bringing up “that” topic didn’t go so well last time. You wondering if your last text came across as too distant…or too snarky…or you realize you forgot to answer at all. We’ve all been there. Friendship is hard. Busyness and tension pile up. So what do we do? What does it look like to maintain a gospel-centered friendship through thick and thin? Colossians 3:12-17 gives a clear picture of how to relate to one another. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. This seems impossible, doesn’t it? These are tall orders: be compassionate, humble, patient, forgiving, thankful. Maybe it would be easier if we could just pick a couple and not worry about the rest. Except...I don’t think that is how it works! So, how do we do this?
Remember, God doesn’t give us commands that are impossible to follow. Even before we read the list of things to put on, we are reminded that we are chosen, holy, and beloved. We know that we can practice these things in our daily lives because God has already chosen and loved us. We are holy because of what God has done for us. Many of these traits are also found in the “fruit of the Spirit” passage in Galatians 5. They are commands that we must follow, and the reason we can do this is because the Spirit produces them in us. The heart transformation that begins when we first believe will continue to shape us more and more each day. God’s Word commands us to put on these traits. God’s Spirit produces them in us. And God’s Son lived out these traits. As we read the gospels, we see Jesus demonstrate these qualities through his words and his actions. By studying the gospels, we can learn from him as we seek to be obedient. We won’t do this perfectly like Jesus did. And our friends will mess up too. That’s why forgiveness is one of the traits! These commands are given to the believers in the Colossian church and they are written in the second person plural. In other words (for those who aren’t language nerds) Paul is saying ,“You all put on”. We are all expected to live out each of these traits. Before we look at how to practically implement these traits, it’s important to understand that these are not personality characteristics. Paul and the believers in Colossae did not have an Enneagram profile or a Meyers-Briggs personality test to figure out how to live in harmony with one another. He doesn’t instruct us to learn each other’s “love language”. The New Testament believers didn’t have these tools and we don’t need them to know how to love others well. Reading and studying Scripture (both personally and together) shapes how we build relationships. If we are shy, that is not an excuse to neglect compassion. If we are outgoing, we are still called to be humble and patient. We shouldn’t only pursue friendships with people who have similar personalities; we are meant to learn from one another. Notice that the thread that binds all these qualities together is love. Love for God and love for others makes each of these possible. Because we are united in him as his chosen ones, his love for us compels us to share that love with others. And in the end, he receives the glory and the thanks for all he does through our relationships with one another. So now that we’ve laid the foundation, we can get into what these look like in real life. This is where it gets practical…and personal. We’ll build more on these principles in the next Anchored Hope post. *If you don’t want to miss the next part of the Friendship series, you can sign up to get an email reminder. It’s free to subscribe!  Welcome to another Nerd Word adventure! This time we’re traveling to Mount Sinai to investigate the third “word” (or commandment) of Exodus 20. Along the way, we’ll learn a Hebrew word, admire the High Priest’s garments, and make a few surprising discoveries. At first glance, the third commandment seems straightforward: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” Our first Hebrew word is nasa. It is usually translated as “take” or “misuse” in English Bibles, but in Hebrews it conveys the idea of lifting, carrying, or bearing. In other words, the commandment can be understood as a warning not to “bear” God’s name in a worthless or empty way. Traditionally, this is often explained as a prohibition against speaking God’s name in a flippant or disrespectful manner. But bearing God’s name is much more than just the words we say. To see this more clearly, let’s step into the tabernacle and see the High Priest’s garments. They would be worn once a year on the day of Atonement when the High Priest would enter the most sacred part of the tabernacle to offer a sacrifice in the presence of Yahweh. Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings. Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear their names on his two shoulders as a memorial before the LORD. The phrase “bear their names” uses the same Hebrew word nasa as in the third commandment. In this case, the High Priest was literally carrying the names of the tribes of Israel that were engraved into stones. Each year when he offered the sacrifice on the day of atonement, he was bringing their names before God as a memorial. So the third commandment is not merely a warning to not say Yahweh’s name in an inappropriate way. While this certainly is one aspect of the instruction, we need to consider how we could “bear his name” in a way that would not be glorifying to him. First of all, the third commandment can’t be separated from the rest of the surrounding verses. Exodus 20 reminds us that Yahweh is the God who had delivered the Israelites from bondage to Pharaoh by sending a redeemer (Exodus 20:1). Because God had chosen the Israelites and redeemed them, they were to respond by acknowledging that He is the only true God and not to worship any other “god” (Exodus 20:3-5). So the first two commandments provide the foundation for how we understand and apply the third commandment. We can certainly say God’s name in a respectful, outwardly acceptable way…but if we are serving another “god”, we are bearing his name in a hypocritical, vain manner. “Well,” you say, “I don’t bow down to statues or offer sacrifices to those pagan gods. And I don’t say ‘golly’, ‘gosh’, ‘gee’, or any of those other words that sound like God. So I’m okay.” Well, not really. There are invisible idols that we like to set up in our lives. John Calvin famously said that our hearts are an “idol factory”. Take me for example…I struggle with gluttony (turning to food for comfort, satisfaction, and stress relief instead of finding ultimate delight in Yahweh). Food is an idol that I frequently try to put in God’s place. It promises so much, delivers temporary pleasure, and then leaves me empty and craving for more. Laziness. Money. Career. Affirmation from others. Our children’s success. Food, alcohol, drugs. Sleep. The idols just keep coming off the assembly line. We may have a list of the “forbidden” words, and we may never say them. But are we actually lifting up and bearing God’s name in vain? How do we nasa his name in a fruitful, wholehearted, and sincere manner? Well, to risk sounding like a broken record (if you even know what that is!)... the third commandment can’t be separated from the rest of the surrounding verses. So, to know how to bear his name, read (and follow!) the rest of the commandments. Here are a few practical implications of bearing God’s name as it is seen through faithful obedience to the ten “words”. Set aside time each week to worship the God whose name you bear. Honor your parents, just as you would honor Yahweh, your heavenly Father. Be honest and show integrity in your relationships and financial stewardship. Be content with what God has given you. In other words, love God (with all your heart, soul, and mind) and love others (Matthew 22:37-40). What an incredible responsibility and privilege we have to nasa God’s name before others and reflect his character in every area of our lives. We carry his name wherever we go. And we are not alone in this adventure! |
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