Today’s Kindle deals include at least one must-read (Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins) and several other good picks such as The Well-Watered Woman. Olasky’s Pivot Points and Lament for a Father are interesting reads as well.
(Yesterday on the blog: Great Gifts but Little Faithfulness)

“Are you feeling unfulfilled? Taken advantage of? Do you feel like a victim? Are you convinced your marriage is doomed? Are you realizing that your children are holding you back? That motherhood is unsatisfying? That as a woman you are trapped, unappreciated, and probably suffering from unrecognized trauma or undiagnosed mental disorders? Do you believe your husband has narcissistic tendencies, that he is insensitive, that he doesn’t do enough, that he doesn’t care enough, that he isn’t the person you were meant to marry?” If so, Melissa wants to chat.

Kevin Burrell tells about a neat relationship between two very different birds and then draws some spiritual applications.

Kevin DeYoung offers some counsel to the church at election time. “I believe pastors must be careful how they lead their churches in our politically polarized culture. I know there are good brothers and sisters who may disagree with these principles and their practical implications. But at the very least, pastors must disciple their leaders and their congregations in thinking through these matters wisely and theologically.”

This is a neat article from Christianity Today (which may require a free account to read). It tells about Barry “Butch” Wilmore who continues to be an elder from space.

What is Calvinism? Writing for Ligonier, Herman Selderhuis explains in some detail.

Rebekah tells about an “eye-opening experience as a result of a Facebook marketing error.”

I thank you that you call your children, Lord, to faith in Christ your Son, our Savior, and to a home where we will feast forever, with you.

One scandalous hypocrite makes the world suspect that all professors are so.
—Thomas Watson

The God of love and peace be with you today.

There is a very substantial list of Kindle deals to explore today.
Westminster Books has a sale this week on a four-volume set of the works of Bavinck.
Am I _____ Enough?
This article addresses the kind of question we all have at one time or another: Am I [fill in the blank] enough?
Repeating the Mistakes of the Past
Alan Shlemon explains how, counter to what we keep hearing, it is the pro-gay advocates who are repeating the mistakes of the past.
A Lifelong Sentence Overturned By Faith: Only God Can Do That!
In one of America’s most notorious prisons, a young man sentenced to life without parole miraculously found faith, forgiveness, redemption, and restoration. In 27 Summers, Ronald Olivier shares his dramatic and powerful story and offers proof that God can bring healing and hope to even the darkest circumstances. Order 27 Summers today. (Sponsored Link)
A More Spontaneous and Genuine Evangelism
“It was not Jesus’ intent to say that the individual Christian must change locations in order to evangelize. But it is most certainly the whole church’s responsibility to see to it that we make disciples where we are, now.” Jim Elliff believes we’ve made evangelism too difficult and confusing.
Debunking Myths About Mentoring
Cindy Matson: “Have you been asked to be a mentor? Have you wondered if you should reach out to that younger believer, but you’re just not sure if you’re qualified to be a mentor? Are you looking for a mentor and wondering how old the person should be? Questions swirl around the topic of mentoring, so let’s take a few minutes today to debunk a few common myths.”
The Religion That Reads (but Doesn’t Respect) the Bible
Sam Emadi explains how Mormonism reads (yet doesn’t respect) the Bible.
The Impact of Social Media on Youth (PDF)
RYM has put together a poster/infographic that shares a summary of the 2023 US Surgeon Report on the impact of social media on youth mental health.
Flashback: The More We Drink, The More We Thirst
We will eat, we will drink, we will feast, and our hearts will be at perfect peace. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Lord, give to me a quiet heart that does not ask to understand but confident steps forward in the darkness guided by Thy hand. —Elisabeth Elliot

For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond. If I turned the pot so the flower was facing the room, within a day or two it would have turned to face the light. And if I rotated it again, the flower would respond in the same way, turning itself toward the light streaming in from the window. I could not fool it. I could not discourage it or persuade it to give up.
You cannot read about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ without noticing his love for the natural world. Many of his most vivid illustrations are drawn from nature—the birds, the plants, the trees, the winds. You often observe him making use of the natural elements that were right before him to help his listeners understand his teaching—the fig tree that failed to bear fruit, the fields that were white for harvest, the birds that were unconcerned about their next meal.
And in that vein, I learned a lesson from that little flower—the lesson of the potted plant. No matter how I turned the plant, it dutifully responded by realigning itself to face the light. No matter how many times I turned it and no matter how completely I turned it, it responded in the same way.
From the plant, I learned that life’s circumstances often turn us into times of darkness, times when we are overcome by pain, sorrow, or other trials. For a time the world around us may look dark and foreboding, like the Valley of the Shadow of Death is closing in around us and threatening to swallow us up. Yet our duty in such times is to look for the light and to turn toward it.
God never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward.Share
And there always will be a source of light, for our God never deserts or abandons us. He never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward. For God does not just have light or display light—he is light.
I’m certain that if I had taken my little potted plant to a dimly lit room in a hospital, it would still have turned toward whatever light came from the window, no matter how dim the source. I’m certain that if I took it to a prison cell with nothing but a single little window high above, it would lift its face toward that one shaft of light. It could not be stopped. It could not be discouraged. It could not be dissuaded.
And neither should we ever be dissuaded from turning toward the Lord in every circumstance. Our eyes may be weary and full of tears, the light may seem distant and dim, but the Lord is present, close to the broken-hearted and eager to save those who are crushed in spirit. It falls to us to simply turn and to look toward the light that streams from his presence and illumines us with his grace.