📖 You're not keeping yourself saved

I. Many of us believe Jesus saved us, but we can have a hard time believing that he keeps us.

We understand that we are saved by grace, but then fall into the trap of thinking we stay in God’s Kingdom by our works.

Paul writes this direct rebuke in Galatians 3:1-3:

“You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?”

His point: our works do not save us, and therefore they cannot keep us.

As followers of Jesus, we should seek to live holy lives. But our holiness doesn’t save us, and it doesn’t keep us.

God saves us through the work of Jesus and the drawing of his Spirit.

And he keeps us that way too.

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II. Parents, if your primary goal is for your child to grow up, get a good-paying job, and be successful in a (good) career, you’re wrong.

Proverbs 17:1 says:

“Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife.”

Your primary job is to teach your kids about Jesus, raise them to be people of virtue and character, and treat others with kindness and respect.

We all know money isn’t the most important thing in life, but then we train up our kids to believe the most important thing is getting good grades in school, getting into a good college, and getting a good job.

Those are not bad things, but those are not the best things. And they won’t bring true contentment and satisfaction in life.

Raise kids with virtue and integrity, and no matter what grades they get, they’ll be more than fine in life.

The story of baby Moses in the Nile probably didn’t happen the way you picture it.

In Exodus 2, a lot of us picture baby Moses being sent on a long journey down the Nile, like you see in movies.

But that’s not what the text actually says.

Moses is placed among the reeds along the bank of the river, not out in open water. His sister stays nearby, watching to see what will happen, and is able to step in right away when Pharaoh’s daughter finds him.

So this likely wasn’t a long drift down the river. It was a careful placement along the shore in a spot where he would be seen.

The text doesn’t say they knew exactly where Pharaoh’s daughter would be, but it does suggest the placement of Moses was intentional.

Moses’ mother isn’t just hoping for the best. She’s acting in faith, but also with wisdom and intention.

Is it a sin to intentionally choose not to have children?

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Essentials of Christian Theology by Holsteen and Svigel

A short (as far as theology books go) and accessible book on some of the essentials of Christian theology.

Coming in at almost 300 pages, the authors do a great job of writing a concise book on Christian beliefs. Their focus is on giving a general overview without getting too much in the weeds of where various Christian traditions land on secondary issues.

Overall, it is a good, entry-level read. Anyone could pick it up and be able to track along. If you are looking for something like that, this book is a good place to start (especially given the length of the book, since most books of this genre are much longer).

While I am not necessarily the intended audience for a book like this, I did wish it covered more topics or dove a little deeper into the topics it did cover. I understand wanting to write a broad overview, but there were times when I wished it would caveat that Christians can disagree on this, but say let’s look at some of the various views on the topic to give readers a better understanding.

Because of that, some of the chapters were a little bland in my opinion. I get not wanting to lose people or get sidetracked, but if someone is reading a book like this, they probably want a little more than what the book gives.

It's a little hard to rate a book like this, given that my ratings are based on how much I enjoyed the book, and books like these aren't necessarily written to be page turners. Still, I hoped this book would be a little bit more than it was.

But it is a good entry-level read for those looking for something accessible.

7/10

P.S. High-level marketing…