Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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Have you ever been poked in the eye? Or have you ever gotten a speck of dust in your eye and learned how it takes just the tiniest piece of grit to cause the severest amount of pain? The smallest particle of dirt has the ability to incapacitate the biggest and strongest of men when it lodges in his eyeball. The eye is fragile and precious and we rightly guard it from harm. There are a number of places in …
The God of peace be with you today. B&H has slowly but steadily been discounting the Kindle editions of every volume in their Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series. Several more volumes are on sale today along with some other titles. Ten Reasons Why Church Membership Is Biblical Mitch Chase: “Is church membership biblical? Yes. The reason is that the biblical nature of church membership is established from a variety of passages and considerations. Here’s a cumulative case of ten reasons why …
It is an experience I have had and, in all likelihood, one you have had as well. I have gone to the doctor to tell him about some pain, some illness, some ailment, and he has asked, “How long has it been like this?” Sheepishly I’ve had to admit, “It has been months” or “It’s been like that for a year.” And, like a dad who is disappointed in his child, he has had to tell me, “You know, if …
My gratitude goes to BJU for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their upcoming CoRE Conference which will appeal especially to those involved in counseling. Yesterday I shared a long list of Black Friday deals. I updated the list a number of times throughout the day and most of the deals remain active through the weekend. There are a few Kindle deals as well. Find Your Fathers in Christ: Advice for Younger Men “Over the last twenty …
A classic strategy in times of warfare is to dehumanize the enemy. No sooner has a conflict broken out than the two sides begin to refer to one another as animals rather than men, as mere creatures rather than human beings. It is difficult to harm another person and abnormal to kill one. Our humanity naturally rebels against it. But the challenge becomes easier when the enemy soldier is an animal instead of a man. After all, it is human …
It is amazing what struggles people will endure when they do so for a purpose they believe in. It is amazing what struggles people will deliberately bring upon themselves when they believe such struggles are the means to a desirable end. Athletes endure endless hours of training, excruciating times of preparation, and the pain of pushing themselves to the very edge of their endurance. And they do it all for the glory of a trophy, medal, or personal best. Students …
I have long observed a fascinating but concerning tendency when I read one of the Bible’s clear commands. I have observed it in myself and I have observed it in others. It’s the tendency to turn quickly from what the Bible does command to what it does not, from the plainest sense of one of God’s directions to a list of exceptions or exclusions. It’s the tendency to hear what God says and immediately reply, “Yeah, but…” “If anyone slaps …
You probably keep score. I’m sure you don’t mean to. You may not even be conscious of it. But there’s a pretty good chance that you do it. You keep score in your marriage. You keep score when you tally up the things you do for your spouse and when you tally up the things your spouse fails to do for you. You rarely keep a running total of your own failures or your spouse’s successes. Rather, you maintain records …
Last week I spent an unexpectedly long time in small-town Alaska—in a town that revolves around commercial fishing. If you’ve seen shows like Deadliest Catch, you’ve seen Amaknak Island which forms part of the sprawling Aleutian chain. You’ve seen the town of Unalaska and its harbor, Dutch Harbor. You’ve seen the fleet that heads into the dangerous Bering Sea to fish for crab. You’ve seen the outsized characters who captain these boats and who man them. We had the interesting …
Everybody knew the local blacksmith. Everybody knew him because no matter where the townsfolk went, they could hear the sound of his hammer as it beat against the anvil. No matter where they were they could hear the sound of his bellows as it spurred the fire to burn and roar with fresh intensity. Day in and day out his sledge beat against the metal like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a drum, like the ringing …