Maybe the Lord be with you and bless you on this final day of 2021.

What Is Indwelling Sin?
This article looks at indwelling sin, specifically through the work of John Owen. “My goal will be to show how his doctrine of indwelling sin is deeply influenced by the theology of the Reformation and a Reformed understanding of the Gospel — and why it is essential to us as Christians today.”
Global Missions and the Treason of Conversion
“Throughout Scripture, when individuals convert, their communities often feel betrayed. To embrace the Triune God as Lord is to repudiate all other lords, identities, and systems. This decision, in the eyes of the world, amounts to treason. Treason. If true conversion is indeed a form of communal ‘treason,’ this has inestimable implications for the missionary task.”
Why Do We Count Down to the New Year?
Have you ever wondered why we count down to the new year? This article from Smithsonian explains where the tradition came from.
Did the Pandemic Wreck the Church?
This is America-centric but probably applies far beyond. “What effect will the coronavirus pandemic have on the future of American religion? Our country has not seen such a radical and abrupt shift in behavior in the last hundred years. Suddenly almost all churches, mosques, and synagogues in the U.S. suspended congregational meetings.”
Backing into 2022: Longing for the World-That-Was
“Normal was the way things were before. We knew the parameters, and we were accustomed to them. No one judged others by their medical decisions. When we wanted to go somewhere, we went without consulting the latest guidelines. We were aware that most media was designed to shape public opinion, but we could ignore it without consequence. We just lived.”
They Saw, But They Forgot
“Sometimes, no matter how many times we’ve read a Bible passage, it strikes us and sticks with us as a new revelation. It’s proof that ‘the word of God is living and active’.” Indeed…
Flashback: The Best Way to Begin a New Year
There is no better way to begin a new year than with the knowledge of your freedom and the desire to live for the glory of the one who has extended such grace. Christian, you are free and clear.

From the beginning, Christians have not defended ‘traditional values.’ They have stood for truth against prevailing cultural norms. —Nancy Pearcey

The Bible is alive; it speaks to me. It has feet; it runs after me. It has hands; it lays hold of me!” So said Martin Luther many years ago. I wonder if you noticed that in this quote, he employs the literary technique of anthropomorphism—he applies the attributes of a person to the Bible. He declares that the Bible has qualities of life: that it has a voice and can speak, that it has feet and can run, that it has hands and can grasp.
If you have studied the life of Luther, you’ll know that in a time of great spiritual torment he committed himself to a careful study of the Bible. As he agonized over it day after day, he came to an understanding that transformed his life and, through the Protestant Reformation, transformed the world. He came to see for himself that the Bible truly is “living and abiding” (1 Peter 1:23).
And Luther was right! The Bible has life and the Bible brings life because it has been spoken by God. The Bible’s life, its voice, its feet, and hands are the life, voice, feet, and hands of God extended toward his people. For that reason among others it is always worthy of our time, our attention, and our dedication. Have you read your Bible today?

May the Lord be with you and bless you today, my friends.

Westminster Books has a deal this week on an excellent new book about Psalm 23. They’ve got another batch of good books discounted as well.
Meanwhile, one of my favorite J.I. Packer books is on sale today in the Kindle edition.
The Mission Field We Don’t Think About
“When I discuss the need for Christians to minister in care facilities, most people are unaware of how bad the situation is. Many picture large facilities with clean, private rooms and resident chaplains paid to provide pastoral care. Such facilities are outliers.” This is an important article from TGC.
Retirement: The New Afterlife?
I suppose this article at least somewhat relates to the previous one. “It used to be that people believed in an afterlife. The Christian hope is that ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us’ (Romans 8:18). But take away the hope of a glorious future beyond this life and we have to try and find it here and now.”
What Is Effeminacy? A Survey of Scripture and History
The term effeminate has made a comeback in recent years, but in this article Steven Wedgeworth shows that many people are not using it within its historical context.
Be A Man, Go To Church
Anne Kennedy offers some interesting reflections inspired by Nancy Pearcey’s The Toxic War on Masculinity.
How does Reformed theology view the future of Israel compared to dispensationalism? (Video)
Here is a timely answer to a question many are asking: What does Reformed theology have to say about the future of Israel? And how does that differ from dispensationalism?
Rebuked by Blessing
“Have you ever been rebuked by bananas? Probably not. But Darlene Deibler was.” That sounds like a story worth reading, doesn’t it?
Flashback: Extending the Borders and Enlarging the Territory
Day by day we take more and more of the vast possession that is ours in Christ. And always and ever we look with expectation to the day the battles will finally be over, the land will finally be fully conquered, and we shall reign forever with Him.

If you neglected to water your garden, you would not wonder for a moment why it was drying up. Then, when you are neglecting to water the soul in vigorous, spiritual exercises, why do you wonder at your being so spiritually dull? —Charles Ebert Orr