News From the Frontlines: July 18th, 2026
- Joshua Budimlic
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
It doesn’t always work out this neatly, but sometimes I find that—by God’s providence—each recommendation flows very well into the next. Indeed, if I had to pick a theme for this week’s News From the Frontlines, I would have to say the focus is on sin, suffering, and God’s manifold purposes in both.
News From the Frontlines:
Recommended Reading, Listening, & Watching
Kendall Lankford writes on the vital importance for godly men to lead well in the culture, church, and home (that is, men with chests, à la C.S. Lewis, and not in the way you might at first think). “When God found no men in Ezekiel’s day, Israel fell. When God found a few men in Acts, pagan Rome fell. This teaches us a profound truth. When hollow men abound within the visible covenant community, calamity for God’s people is not far away. But when real men build in joyful obedience to God, nations will eventually collapse as the Kingdom of God advances... We must recognize that real men with real chests, set on fire by the living God and governed by truth, are one of the most dangerous creatures under heaven.”
A lengthy but worthwhile read. “The point in saying all this, is to show that the question ‘is sin genetic?’ or ‘can we be genetically predisposed to certain sin?’ is a question unsuitable to ask in the realm of genetics – it is simply not a question genetics has the tools to answer. It’s like asking Hugh Laurie for medical advice. Good luck. There is simply no sinful genetic expression; genetic expressions affected by sin, certainly, but none that are sin itself. There are no adultery genes, or murder genes or the ever sought after gay gene. Scientists may attempt to say things that make it appear that there is some genetic connection, like hormonal or chemical imbalances (of which there are no ways to determine) but there is absolutely zero – ZERO – proof to back these statements, only theories, which are nothing but the ideas of ignorant men who don’t care about God’s thoughts.”
I was encouraged by this article where Tim Challies considers God’s providence in those areas of life we may deem to be ‘unfair.’ He writes: “Joseph’s place was in the prison, Aaron’s place was in the tabernacle, Esther’s place was in the palace, and my place is right where he’s placed me. In that way, it doesn’t matter what I might have been, as long as I am succeeding in what I actually am, as long as I am trusting that this is where He wants me, and as long as I am being who He wants me to be. He doesn’t call me to live another man’s life or maximize another man’s talents. He calls me to serve him just where and how I am. My station, my field, my area of responsibility is exactly the one he has called me to, and I simply need to trust that he knows best.”
This article wonderfully ties together the previous one by Tim Challies and the next one by Tony Reinke. “We typically think of—and pray for—God to intervene in our lives to remove trials, pain, difficulties, and hardships. Calvin’s view is the opposite: God intervenes in our lives by placing trials, pain, difficulties, and hardships in our lives. Whatever ails us in our spiritual lives, the remedy, Calvin says, is the blessing of a cross to bear.”
At Desiring God, Tony Reinke writes about the sin of idolatry and considers how the Reformers fought against Rome—and the surrounding culture—on this particular issue wherein, as with all sin, God’s glory was being terribly obscured. “The Reformers perceived the ancient expression of idol-making as simply the expression of an inner idol, a falsely placed confidence. The Protestant Reformation was a declaration of war on vain thoughts about God. And when war is declared against vain thoughts about God, war is declared on the culture’s idols.”
Speaking of important truths reclaimed and dusted off during the Protestant Reformation... In this article, Conrad Mbewe answers the important question of whether regeneration or conversion comes first in the order of salvation. “The new birth is an act of God whereby he infuses spiritual life into spiritually dead sinners. It is this spiritual life that enables sinners to sense the danger they are in (i.e. the wrath of God) and to see the sufficiency of the Saviour to save them from sin. These two realities become as true to them as the physical world that they see around them.”
Owen Strachan reflects on what is easily the best movie of not just 2026 thus far, but indeed the past decade—Project Hail Mary. “My point is this: speaking generally, many Christians today have altogether lost trust in Hollywood. For this reason, it can be hard to believe reports when a film comes out that is genuinely beautiful, uplifting, and relatively clean. But such a film has just appeared, seemingly ex nihilo. It is entitled “Project Hail Mary,” and it stars Ryan Gosling.” I really enjoyed both the novel and the film myself, and should you be interested, you can read my review/reflection (or, rev-flection) here: ‘Project Hail Mary’: Full of Grace, Courage, & Friendship.
Photo by Iván Levyv, Unsplash
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