In the Margins - 2/25/26

Things I Read

Started Joel Beeke's single volume Essentials of Reformed Systematic Theology. Beeke has a way of being both doctrinally deep and devotionally warm. It'll be a trek (the book comes in at 1,088 pages), but a worthwhile one, I'm sure.

Things I Listened To

The Bible! Ashley and I are doing a reading plan together, and we've decided whenever we fall behind, we'll listen to the Bible until we catch up. Getting a puppy and getting sick threw us off a little bit, so we've been listening to a lot of Scripture lately!

Things I Watched

Several years ago I read Ben Sasse's (former senator of Nebraska) book The Vanishing American Adult and was impressed by Sasse's breadth of knowledge (he had a PhD in history) as well as his wisdom. I also learned that he was a strong Christian who embraced reformed theology and had worked with Michael Horton and James Montgomery Boice. I was surprised last week to find out that in December, he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He will likely die this year.

Anyway, he did a couple interviews that I watched. Both interviews reaffirmed my love for the guy, his faithful tenacity, and helped me to visualize how to look death in the face. Pray for his family.

Here’s one with Michael Horton and Dan Bryant.

Here’s another with the Hoover Institution.

Things I Thought

When people want friends and set out to seek them, they typically get frustrated because they are focused on how the person is responding to them. They have some vision of friendship in their mind and they want to have it immediately. But seeking friendship, counterintuitively, will not create friendship - not good friendships at least. True friendship is made when the aim is love - real, deep, pursuing, overflowing love. Friendship naturally follows that kind of love.

Quotes to Ponder

“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God!”

Jim Elliot