Weekend A La Carte (December 4)

May the Lord bless and keep you this weekend. I’m very grateful to ShareWord for sponsoring the blog this week with some important news. Today’s Kindle deals include a selection of excellent commentaries and other works. (Yesterday on the blog: A December Family Update (and Non-Travel Report) Unfiltered Christmas Here’s an encouragement to have an unfiltered Christmas. “Material beauty will never be enough. The best of earth will never meet the deepest longing of our brokenness. We long, like pining Bethlehem, …

A December Family Update (and Non-Travel Report)

I turned 45 yesterday. My birthday was supposed to arrive when I was somewhere high over the Atlantic, perhaps just off the coast of Namibia, at the front end of a monster 16-hour homeward flight. I should have long since fallen asleep, and not known exactly where I was when the clock struck midnight, nor even what time zone it might have been. I suppose it’s possible that I would have turned 45 a few times while flying briskly from …

A La Carte (December 3)

The Lord be with you and bless you today. There are some nice new Kindle deals to look at today. Binding “It was the most significant spiritual moment of our marriage. And it happened 22 years after we said, ‘I do.’” Melissa explains what it was all about. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? “Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I think we can all agree that this time of year can bring out the best and the worst, …

A La Carte (December 2)

As happens each year, Westminster Books has marked down ESVs to 50% off. That includes premium Bibles, Reader’s Bibles, study Bibles, etc. Logos users will want to be sure to download this month’s free and nearly-free books. Today’s Kindle deals include, among others, a couple of Christmas devotionals. (Yesterday on the blog: The Joy of Hearing) Postmodernism’s Revenge Here’s Kevin DeYoung writing for WORLD opinions. “Looking for blind spots is one thing. Acting as if we are blind is another. …

The Joy of Hearing

There is perhaps no book of the Bible that offers as many interpretive challenges as the book of Revelation. I sometimes debate whether the book is actually perfectly clear while we are pathetically thick or whether the book is extremely difficult to understand because God intended it to be. Either way, though the intent and general message of Revelation is clear enough, the details present a challenge worthy of the most eminent theologian. Speaking of which, Thomas Schreiner has recently …

A La Carte (December 1)

The beginning of a new month is just the right time to consider that right now, today, at this very moment, God is reigning upon his throne. There’s a good little list of Kindle deals to work through. You Can’t Channel Him Because He’s Not Dead Anne Kennedy: “A dear and wonderful friend sent me an article about the most fantastical religious trend I think I’ve come across to date. In all my wandering around the cyber highways and byways …

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Dec 3

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"No mother’s nightmarish valley is so dark that Jesus cannot bear her burdens the whole way through." (Gloria Furman)

"No mother’s nightmarish valley is so dark that Jesus cannot bear her burdens the whole way through." (Gloria Furman) ...

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Dec 2

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"Churches don’t make the gospel true. It is true even when the household of God behaves badly. But people can see that it is true, and doubters are converted when “the sweetness of the Lord” is upon us." (Ray Ortlund)

"Churches don’t make the gospel true. It is true even when the household of God behaves badly. But people can see that it is true, and doubters are converted when “the sweetness of the Lord” is upon us." (Ray Ortlund) ...

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Dec 1

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"At the point when we begin to think of God as being anything other than holy is the moment we are imagining a completely different god altogether." (Jackie Hill Perry)

"At the point when we begin to think of God as being anything other than holy is the moment we are imagining a completely different god altogether." (Jackie Hill Perry) ...

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Nov 30

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"Grace is forgiveness of sin, not approval of it." (Jared Wilson)

"Grace is forgiveness of sin, not approval of it." (Jared Wilson) ...

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Nov 29

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"Modern pop music is not composed for us. The latest TV lineup is not scripted for us. We’re not your average teenagers anymore. What are we? We are free. Following Jesus means we don’t have to live the way our culture tells us to." (Jaquelle Crowe)

"Modern pop music is not composed for us. The latest TV lineup is not scripted for us. We’re not your average teenagers anymore. What are we? We are free. Following Jesus means we don’t have to live the way our culture tells us to." (Jaquelle Crowe) ...

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Nov 27

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"What God commissions, he sees through to the end. He will not forsake us in the work he has given us." (Gloria Furman)

"What God commissions, he sees through to the end. He will not forsake us in the work he has given us." (Gloria Furman) ...

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Nov 26

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"God’s love is the source, not the consequence, of the atonement." (John Stott)

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Nov 25

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"One of the effects of the gospel going deeper into our souls is that it frees our fingers to loosen their grasp on our goods." (David Mathis)

"One of the effects of the gospel going deeper into our souls is that it frees our fingers to loosen their grasp on our goods." (David Mathis) ...

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A La Carte (November 30)

May the God of love and peace be with you today. This is quite a deal from Westminster Books: the beautiful 6-volume ESV Reader’s Bible at 80% off! (Yesterday on the blog: I Knew It!) Crucial Questions with Kristin Kobes Du Mez Denny Burk had a telling back-and-forth with Kristin Kobes Du Mez and writes about it here. What I found most interesting was his four-step pathway to deconstructing the traditional Christian teaching on homosexuality. “Evangelicals who deconstruct the Bible’s …

ShareWord Global – A new name and mission for The Gideons in Canada

This week the blog is sponsored by ShareWord Global. What do most people think of when they hear ‘The Gideons’? If you were to ask around, the answer would likely have something to do with Bible distribution, with the most common forms being Bibles in hotel nightstands or in the hands of Grade 5 students. But the thing is, the Gideons have never just been about Bible distribution – in hotel nightstands, or otherwise. If you trace back to the …

I Knew It!

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to enter heaven? Do you ever wonder what you will see first, what you will hear first, what you will feel and experience first? Do you ever wonder what your very first thought will be after you’ve fallen asleep in this world to awaken in the next? I’m sure you do. We all do. We all wonder what’s just beyond the great chasm that separates life from death, earth from heaven, here from …

A La Carte (November 29)

Good morning. Grace and peace to you today. Many of the Black Friday deals I posted last week have now added Cyber Monday deals. Logos users will want to check out this long list of deals for today. Amazon shoppers may want to look at the board games on sale here and here, or general Cyber Monday deals here. (Yesterday on the blog: The Sad, Sad Story You Need To Tell God) Giving Thanks for Prosperity and Adversity “There’s been a …

The Sad, Sad Story You Need To Tell God

There are times in the Christian life when we realize a distance has grown up between ourselves and God. There may be different sources and causes and it is wise for us to examine ourselves to attempt to determine why. F.B. Meyer once wanted to offer counsel to those who had searched their hearts and understood that it was sin that had caused this rift. Here is what he said: You have lost the light of God’s face, not because …

Weekend A La Carte (November 27)

May you know and experience the Lord’s blessings this weekend. (Yesterday on the blog: Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021 Deal for Christians) Today’s Kindle deals include some classics for now and perhaps some others in the morning. What Keeps Couples Apart? Stephen Witmer: “Despite the beauty and blessedness of true intimacy, I’ve encountered numerous obstacles to it — both in my own marriage, and in years of counseling married couples. One of the most common is busyness.” The fundamental …

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The Joy of Hearing

The Joy of Hearing

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Free Stuff Fridays (Truth78)

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Truth78, who also sponsored the blog this week. They are giving away three sets of the Old Testament and New Testament volumes of More Than a Story. Here is more about the book set: More Than a Story takes children on a chronological journey through the Bible with a God-centered, gospel-focused, discipleship-oriented, theologically grounded perspective. Though the Bible is full of stories, it is MORE THAN A STORY. It is the authoritative …

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021 Deals for Christians

While there are many places you can go today to find deals on electronics and other big-ticket items, I like to provide a place for Christian retailers to make their deals known to Christians who are trying to kick-start their Christmas shopping (or to just buy great resources at significant discounts). I will update this list regularly throughout the weekend, so you may want to return to a few times. Be sure to check back on Monday for Cyber Monday …

A La Carte (November 26)

Today I have published a list of Black Friday deals that may be of interest to Christian folk. I will be updating it a number of times over the course of the day, then again on Cyber Monday. So if that’s of any interest, do check in now and again. There are a few Kindle deals to be had this morning. Connecting the Dots I appreciate this reflection on Reformed theology and how it connects the dots. “When you start …

A La Carte (November 25)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends and family. You enjoy your holiday and we’ll take care of the internet today. Today’s Kindle deals include a nice little selection of titles. (Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books fo November 2021) Thanksgiving, Gratitude, and Leanness of Soul “When we forget God and ingratitude sets in, we have grown spiritually sick. At that point, it does not matter how much we have; it will never satisfy us, and the …

New and Notable Christian Books for November 2021

The final months of the year are typically not the best time for new book releases. However, this year we are seeing some special releases that are well worth investigating—including books by prominent theologians like Thomas Schreiner and Douglas Moo. With that in mind, here is my list of new and notable Christian books for November 2021. In each case I’ve included the editorial description. The Joy of Hearing: A Theology of the Book of Revelation by Thomas Schreiner. “Join …

A La Carte (November 24)

May the Lord bless and keep you today. On sale at Westminster Books this week is a new volumes of systematic theology by Douglas Kelly. There are a couple of Kindle deals so far, with perhaps a few more to come in the morning. What happened at the ETS? I appreciated Denny Burk’s roundup of some of what transpired at the recent ETS meetings. The Danger of Nostalgia “What’s your favorite family memory? What is your favorite memory of church? Your favorite holiday …

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My Books

Do More Better Cover

Do More Better

by Tim Challies

I wrote this short, fast-paced, practical guide to productivity to share what I have learned about getting things done in today’s digital world. It will help you learn to structure your life to do the most good to the glory of God. Read More