Good morning. Here’s your occasional reminder that I maintain an up-to-date page of commentaries that are on sale. It gets updated at least once a week and lists both Kindle and print editions. Remember as well that I keep a whole section of Book Recommendations.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include some great picks. The headliner is the new edition of Meet the Puritans. You’ll also find a book on prayer, a daily devotional, and several volumes of The Gospel According to the Old Testament series.
Westminster Books has a sale on Alistair Begg’s now-famous “Man on the Middle Cross.”
Recommended Reading
The LORD Will Keep Your Children’s Lives. Holly Huffstutler acknowledges that it is relatively easy to trust God’s promises for her own life, but much harder to trust them for her children’s lives. “My children have a far greater Keeper than me. The best thing I can do for them is point them to their Keeper. Instead of trying to keep control of them, I must relinquish them to the One who perfectly keeps them from this time forth and forevermore.”
Dinesh D’Souza’s Case Against Calvinism, Answered. Dinesh D’Souza recently made a very public case against Calvinism. Anthony Faggiano carefully considers the claims and answers them well. Not surprisingly, he finds that D’Souza did not accurately represent many aspects of a Calvinistic understanding of predestination, free will, and justification.
Do Religious Families Actually Have More Kids? Ryan Burge does some digging to see whether religious families tend to have more children than non-religious ones. “[Quiverfull is] the image that pops into most American minds when they see a family with a whole bunch of children at the grocery store or piling out of a fifteen-passenger van in the church parking lot. They assume that mom and dad are deeply devout people who are having all those kids for Jesus. It’s a tidy little stereotype. The only problem is that the data doesn’t really back it up.”
The Incomparable Joy of Reading to Your Kids. I affirm what Zak Mellgren says here: That the joy of reading good books to your children is incomparable. “Honestly, I’m so excited for the season I’m in right now with my family. My wife and I are reading Anne of Green Gables with our girls after the boys go to bed, and I find myself nearly laughing out loud most nights – laughter I fight to suppress, by the way, because I take my job as narrator and voice actor very seriously.” (And yes, Anne is a funny and brilliant read.)
The Real Reason Iran Is Capturing Christians. (YouTube) This video from Radical details Iran’s persecution of Christians and explains why believers should still feel hopeful about the future.
How Much of My Suffering Should I Share With My People? Garrett Kell considers an important question, and while his article pertains specifically to pastors, every Christian needs to consider it. “The past few years have been a uniquely trying season for my family and me. We’ve endured numerous hardships that have changed nearly everything about our lives. In December 2023, my oldest daughter had a seizure that lasted twenty-six hours and forced her onto life support. That was followed by a six-month hospital stay. This coincided with my mother’s brutal battle with pancreatic cancer. Other trials during this time have only been shared with a small circle of friends.”
Headlines
Here are a couple of recent headlines from Christian news.
US Missionary Freed After 9 Months Captivity in Niger. Christianity Today reports the happy news that Kevin Rideout, an American missionary pilot who had been held hostage for nine months in Niger, has been released. “Rideout’s abduction reveals the growing insecurity and Islamic extremism in the West African country. That, combined with tightened government restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), has made it more difficult for missionaries to continue serving in fields such as humanitarian aid, health care, and education.”
Grace Community Church Names New Senior Pastor. I was pleased to learn that Grace Community Church has named Nathan Busenitz as the senior pastor who will succeed John MacArthur. The Christian Post reports. “Busenitz served for several years as MacArthur’s personal assistant. He was a student at The Master’s University (TMU) and The Master’s Seminary (TMS), both led by MacArthur, and he later served as executive vice president at the university.”
Canadian Military Chaplains Can’t Mention God in Public. Also from Christianity Today is this report about a new rule for Canada’s military chaplains: They are now forbidden from mentioning God in public settings. Do pray for those faithful chaplains who may need to make some difficult decisions in the days ahead.
Flashback
The Times When You Are Most Vulnerable. Even in your hardest times, you still have so much to be grateful for…Christian, make it your commitment to pray in the hardest times and give thanks to God for his many mercies.
We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
—A.W. Tozer
