The Friday Update - Unless It's A Dog

Happy Good Friday,

On this Good Friday it’s worth asking: 1) Is what I’m living for as committed to me as I am to it? 2) Is it as committed to me as Jesus is? and 3) Am I as committed to Jesus as he is to me? By the way, the correct answers are: 1) Unless it’s a dog, probably not. 2) Not a chance; and 3) Not even close.

IS2M

1) Though we tend to think we’re an exception, most of us are shockingly susceptible to propaganda and easily misled by our algorithm.

2) Some introspection is good, but we need some extro-spection as well.

3) One of the under-appreciated aspects of Jesus is his gracious acceptance of limits, starting with the incarnation.

Question 

What Old Testament passage is cited by New Testament writers more than any other?

Overheard

1) There may be no more important petition than "show me my hidden faults," because while self-deception may not be the worst thing we do, it often leads to the worst things.

2) Faced with the choice between our desire for control and our desire for close relationships, many choose wrong.

3) Churches still live or die, in large measure, by whether they keep and form their own children.

4) There has lived a man wholly for others all the way to death; and he has risen so that his self-giving will finally triumph. 

Version 389 of Psalm 23

Just as Amazing Grace is constantly reworked—I’ve heard cowboy, polka, disco, rap and jazz versions—Psalm 23 is forever being tinkered with as well. Here’s a new one which begins as The algorithm is my shepherd; I shall always want. I pass it along because it’s clever, makes a point, and may help you with the self-deception.

Without Comment

1) This report claims our attention spans are about 1/3 as long—“Hey look, a squirrel!”—as they were in 2004.

2) In ’20, 8% of U.S. residents smoked pot daily; in ‘25, 17% did.

3) In 2010, 33% of U.S. counties had more deaths than births. Today 65% do.

4) Research from Microsoft concludes that the average office worker is interrupted once every 2 minutes.

5) The unemployment rate of recent college graduates is currently higher than the national unemployment rate, which is rare.

6) According to the NYT, this Easter 1,428 people will join the Catholic Church in Detroit, the highest number in the Motor City in 21 years.

7) Per this report, more people in the U.S. now marry at 40 than at 20.

8) Per this Substack, young conservatives are still watching Fox, but young “atheists and agnostics” are turning away from MS Now.

9) Per the U.S. Census Bureau, between ‘22 and ‘23, the Hispanic population accounted for 71% of U.S. population growth.

Quotes Worth Requoting

1) “We create our buildings and then they create us. Likewise, we construct our circle of friends and then they construct us.” — Frank Lloyd Wright

2) “Most of humanity's problems stem from our inability to sit in a room, all by ourselves, in peace and quiet.” — Pascal

3) “The Reformer is often right about what's wrong. However, he's also often wrong about what’s right.” — G.K. Chesterton

Reader Mail

My Fridays are full of important emails from readers. Last week, one suggested that the claim that 50% of Millennials have a tattoo might actually mean that 100% of Millennials have half a tattoo. Another said I was wrong to write that Chuck Norris had experienced death. I should have noted that “death experienced Chuck Norris.”

Answer

Psalm 2 is the OT passage most frequently cited in the New. What’s it about? In it King David famously tells about the nations rising up against God….  and God laughing.

WOTW

Honorable mention goes to the Jevons paradox (which occurs when increased tech efficiency lowers the cost of a product so much, which causes its consumption to rise rather than decrease), promposal (apparently it’s now a thing to mimic a proposal when you ask your date to prom and it’s often expensive), and experience economy (your willingness to spend $ on a promposal rather than on more clothes). Full honors go to HALO (High Asset Low Obsolesce items that some investors think will hold their value after AI disrupts everything else).

Resources

1) Starting next Wednesday, I'm teaching a Lakelight class exploring insights from C.S. Lewis,  J.R.R. Tolkien, G.K. Chesterton, and John Stott. You can sign up here. 

2) Click here for last week's sermon—a reflection on our desperate need for the sacraments.

3) Click here to sign up for a new round of five-minute video devotions from the Book of Joshua which start on Monday.

4) Click here—BUT NOT UNTIL SUNDAY—for a song which celebrates the victory of Jesus over all our worst enemies.

A Request

Many who do not believe in Jesus will be among the one to two billion who show up at one of the 4.6 million services to hear about him this Sunday. Please pray they’re open to the Gospel. 

Closing Prayer

“Grant, O Lord, that we may keep a constant guard on our thoughts and passions, that they may never lead us into sin; That we may live in perfect love with all humankind, in affection to those who love us, and in forgiveness to those, if any there are, who hate us. Give us good and virtuous friends. In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Warren Hastings - 1732-1818)