As yet another month draws to its close, perhaps it is an ideal time for us to remind ourselves that right now, at this very moment, God is reigning from his throne.

(Yesterday on the blog: Cheer Up, Men and Women of Unappreciated Services)
The widow’s might
Kim Henderson’s column in the new issue of WORLD magazine is both sad and sweet.
Eighteen
And in a different way, Kristin’s latest blog post is also sad and sweet. “I pull the China plates from the hutch, setting the table pretty. Our girl is turning eighteen and everyone is coming home to celebrate.”
The Only Way is Ordinary
“I’m suspicious that one reason older generations of Christians tended to be skeptical toward ambition—even calling it a sin on occasion—is that they were able to see something more clearly than we moderns can.” That’s an interesting opening for an article…
Birds of the Sun (Video)
“Every year, the Arctic tern—a bird weighing less than five ounces–completes one of the greatest journeys in the animal kingdom. In their constant search for daylight, moderate temperatures and small fish on which to feed, the terns literally follow the sun from the North Pole to Antarctica, and back again. Their migrations can extend more than 50,000 miles, and the biological systems that make this odyssey possible offer spectacular displays of intelligent design and purpose in the living world.”
Greek Word Order and Nuance
“There is meaning in Greek word order, but it is normally so nuanced that it can’t come out in translation.” It’s good for us to be reminded from time to time just how much goes into a good translation of the Bible.
What Did Jesus Teach about Prayer?
This article summarizes what Jesus taught about prayer.
Flashback: Little Words That Make All the Difference
“Now this is me, not the Bible.” You are making it clear that you’ve gone from an area of absolute biblical clarity to an area of wisdom and conscience. You are ensuring that both you and he acknowledge the difference.

God’s memory is mighty enough to hold all the events of the ages, but there is one thing that is sure to slip his memory, one thing he is sure to forget, and that is pardoned transgression. —De Witt Talmage

The Lord be with you and bless you today.

Westminster Books has a really good deal on a really neat set of books.
Remembering Don Lewis
“Dr. Donald Munro Lewis died Tuesday, October 19, 2021 in Vancouver, BC, of cardiac arrest. He was seventy-one. A beloved and respected historian, professor, mentor, friend, and parishioner, Don will be mourned and missed around the world. He was a wise and steadying presence from Vancouver to Cape Town.” Don was also the man who led my dad to the Lord (who in turn led my mom to the Lord).
Identity vs. personhood
This is a really good one from Janie Cheaney. “Anyone over 40 could have a lot of fun with 249 genders, but it’s no laughing matter for young people trying to figure out who they are in a confused and confusing world. The tragedy is, some may be so intent on crafting identities that they’ve let go of personhood.”
The Woke Non-Gospel at the Chappelle Netflix Protests
Rhys Laverty has some interesting analysis of a recent protest. Note that there is a really bad word that comes up in the article, but it is asterisked out. “I awoke this morning to a protest video. A friend had forwarded a video of yesterday’s demonstration outside Netflix’s head office in LA. Employees walked out, joined by plenty of others, to protest comedian Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix standup special.”
Sing When You’re Losing
“The gathered church sings. That’s what we do. It’s not the only thing we do, but it is what we do. … We sing to worship the Lord, we sing to bolster one another, we sing to ‘push back the dark’ by declaring the victory of Christ. But, occasionally, we struggle to sing. Especially I think we struggle to sing—or at least I struggle to sing—when it feels like we’re losing.”
Four Types of Men in Leadership
I appreciate Chopo’s thoughts on leadership here. Focusing specifically on leadership in the home and church, he highlights four kinds of men commonly found in the church and in our society.
What the Lord’s “Imminent” Return Means
This is a helpful look at what it means that the Lord’s return is “imminent.”
The Church Among the Deathworks
I’m committed to linking to pretty much everything Carl Trueman writes. “Hegel writes that the 1820s witnessed a rise in anxiety and despair because cultural symbols and institutions began to lose their meaning, plunging the world into a state of random flux. Of course, this is all the more true of our own world, where old symbols—national flags, national anthems, national narratives—have lost their shared meaning, and have thus also lost their authority. Which flag to fly—Stars and Stripes or Pride? Which anthem to sing—’Star Spangled Banner’ or ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’? Where to date America’s founding—1776 or 1619? These are now serious questions.”
Flashback: Young Christian: Give the Lord a Lot to Work With
The teens and twenties—these are years that can be put to very good use or that can be squandered. These are years that can form the firm foundation of a life well-lived or the unsteady foundation of a life tragically wasted.

Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us (leading us to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading us to repentance). —John Stott

Logos’ Blue Friday sale continues today and wraps up this weekend. If you’re a Logos user, you’ll definitely want to give it a look. Some new deals will drop today (though possibly not until a bit later in the morning).
Today’s Kindle deals include a radical and comprehensive call to holiness. Piper’s Brothers, We Are Not Professionals is on the list as well.

Douglas Groothuis doesn’t hold back when he says “most Americans are well-informed, hyperactive ignoramuses. They are information-rich, information-ravenous, and knowledge-deprived.”

Christopher Yuan debunks the oft-repeated 1946 myth.

Some living things, even ones we consider insignificant, can point us to the person and work of Jesus in surprising and amazing ways. The crimson worm is one of these lowly but unique creations. About seven millimeters long, the crimson worm is barely longer than the width of a pencil eraser. You might call it minimal, minor, miniature, or minuscule. But God created the crimson worm to have a life cycle that points us to one event: Jesus’ saving death on the cross. (Sponsored)

“Our churches are not forming us into deep and rich faith. I’ve been writing around this for a while, but I don’t think we’re talking about it enough. There are, of course, wonderful exceptions of individuals with deep and rich faith. You, dear friend, may well be among them. May Jesus continue to draw you towards himself.” However…

Though the specific context of this article is Asian-American Christians, it pertains to many others as well. “A question that is often asked is how can they lovingly honor their parents when it feels like nothing they do will ever meet their parents’ expectations or if expectations of them seem harsh, unreasonable, or unbiblical?”

Barnabas Piper shares 30 pieces of writing from C.S. Lewis. There are some gems among them!

“Patriotic pride rejoices in your piece of a shared vision of the collective good. But what happens when your vision is not shared so collectively? Your warm feelings of patriotism will sour into bitter nostalgia, or perhaps something darker. We need something more secure.”

God knew better than to answer the prayers in the way that seemed so good and so necessary to that young man.

A domineering manner, an unbridled ambition, an offensive strut, a tyrant’s talk—no attitude could be less fit for one who claims to be a servant of the Son of God.
—Oswald Sanders