“Joy is not an emotion. Joy is a settled certainty that God is in control.” (Jim Engle, quoted by Greg Forster, The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God’s Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Another week, another moment to thank God for all He has provided. Through His church, He has provided many links to learn and read from. Here’s a select few for this week’s links:

• Have you ever wondered why we as believers are called to obey Christ completely? Professor offers three simple reasons, the first of which I think is more than enough.
• While the debate on the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son continues on, Pastor Jesse Johnson gives a summary of the debate in 200 words (with additional footnotes). And in case you’re wondering why this debate matters, I find Tony Reinke’s interview with Pastor Michael Reeves extremely helpful in calibrating our mindset to delight in the Trinity. I hope and pray our minds are full of delight in how God has chosen to reveal Himself, and we would worship Him as He truly is.
• Over at The Glory Books blog, Nicholas Melonas makes the case that believers should consider learning the biblical languages, while missionary Robert Zink explains the detrimental effects of pride on our devotional time with the Lord.
• Biblical counselor Bob Kellemen was recently interviewed about his book Gospel-Centered Counseling. A transcript of this interview has been made available to read. This is a good summary of its contents, along with his thoughts on the biblical counseling movement as a whole. Stimulating and encouraging.
• Last week, some of the ladies from our church, as well as other LBC churches, attended The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference. All the sessions have been posted online. You would be wise to give your time to this, ladies!
• Tim Challies makes mention of an event for Christians to gather at the National Mall next month, calling for a million people to come gather together there. Challies exercises discernment in evaluating the purpose of this upcoming event. This can be an opportunity to bring the gospel to bear in conversation with both believer and non-believer, so be prepared to discuss this.
• In light of the recent Orlando attack, some backlash has come in the vein of calling everyone to come together by loving each other, as Jesus and Muhammad taught. David Wood fact-checks this kind of thinking.
• Over the past number of months, Crossway has been coming out with posts entitled, ’10 Things You Should Know About…’ Well, now you can access all of them in one spot. Guess what? There’s a lot we should know, and now you have a good place to start!
• John Piper recently dealt with a couple ‘Ask Pastor John’ podcasts on summer, one on bikinis and modesty, and the other on a theology of summer vacations. Listening to these is a great start to not waste your summer.
• Eugene Merrill provides some thoughts on typical objections to the Bible in terms of Old Testament historical credibility. Great insights.
• Al Mohler recently discussed on his daily program The Briefing the issue of character in leadership and whether it still matters, given the current election. He also wrote an essay about that as well. Sane and biblical thinking to meditate on.

That’s all for this week! Please remember to pray for all attending VBS next week, including the staff who have been preparing, and also the parents who will have opportunities to discuss with their kids the truths that they learn. See you all on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria