The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.

There are some new Kindle deals for you this morning.
No Word For Grace
“How do you preach the gospel in a tribe where there is no word for grace?” What an interesting challenge!
Hearts Strangely Warmed at Asbury
I really appreciate this charitable take on the recent revival from Fred Sanders and Joe Henderson.
Doing what is right without needing a new word from the Lord
“…sometimes we make the service of God a little too mystical. We look for guidance and pray for God to open doors. Some might ask God for a sign before they do something, or expect a special word from God for them personally telling them the right decision to make. Some seek a sense of peace about a decision. While this does exhibit faith in believing that God can do this, it is not a Biblical expectation.”
Unexpected English Idioms (Phil 3:5)
Bill Mounce provides an example of a case in which a very literal translation can actually hinder understanding.
Turkish Christians Plead: Don’t Distribute Bibles After Earthquake
CT reports on Christian relief efforts in Turkey. “The Protestant Association of Turkey (TeK) has been hard at work to establish guidelines. Last week, after expressing a ‘debt of gratitude’ to all who have prayed and given to support relief efforts, it issued six directives.”
Your House is on Fire
Kristin wrote this one specifically for pastors’ wives, but it is applicable far beyond that.
Flashback: Little Seeds that Split Great Rocks
…each Christian must be on constant watch against little seeds of dispute that fall into little fissures of disunity. For little disputes have their ways of growing into big disputes, their ways of becoming far greater than we would ever have thought, would ever have imagined.

For God’s people to truly love and obey him, they needed more than rules. They needed new hearts—hearts with his good law written right on them. God had to transform his people from the inside out. —Gloria Furman

The Lord bless you and keep you today.

Westminster Books has a sale on a great set of the Works of Francis Schaeffer.
Today’s Kindle deals include one classic as well as a couple of newer works.
The Briefing on the End of Roe v Wade
Not surprisingly, many of the people I follow had things to say about the apparent imminent overturning of Roe v Wade. I’ve linked here to Al Mohler’s The Briefing. See also Joe Carter, Collin Hansen, and Denny Burk.
Older Saints Wanted
Darry Dash: “The older I get, the more I look for the redwoods, not the saplings. Who do I want to be like when I grow up? These older saints. I have a long way to go, but I pray to God for even a little of what they have.”
Why Did the Early Christians Switch from Sabbath to the Lord’s Day?
“What would compel devout Jews—John, Paul, and the entire early church—to exchange Saturday worship for Sunday worship to celebrate a person, the Lord Jesus?” That is well worth considering.
28 Fascinating Facts About Time
“Did you know that a day on Earth used to be around six hours shorter than it is today? Or that Julius Caesar once implemented a 445-day-long year? Learn those fascinating facts about time and more in this list.” Feel free to adapt any facts that have the words “billions of years” in them.
An Example of the Fear of God
Kevin DeYoung considers the Hebrew midwives and an example of the fear of God.
5 Copywriting Commandments and How to Implement Them
Cara has some good and helpful counsel for bloggers and writers.
Flashback: 6 Very Good Reasons to Consider Your Short Little Life
Repentance is our duty before God, but one we are prone to delay. But when we think of the uncertainty of time and its sheer brevity, we will see the danger of delaying. We will see we must repent today instead of procrastinating repentance into an uncertain future.

There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard

The God of peace be with you on this fine day.
The daily list of Kindle deals tends to be finalized at around 6:30 AM, so it’s usually a good idea to check in after then.
Westminster Books has a deal on the newly-published set The Practical Works of Richard Baxter. Plus they’ve still got all ESVs at 50% off.
(Yesterday on the blog: As the Outer Is Peeled Away)

Every December Collin Hansen puts together a roundup of his top 10 theology stories of the year. It’s always interesting to read his picks and to decide whether you agree or disagree.

Lara d’Entremont: “Whenever I’m around professionals, I feel shame prickle my neck and cheeks. As they tell me about their journey from college to working their way to this position they’re currently in, I cringe when the silence comes—because we all know the next question. ‘What do you do?’ they ask nonchalantly. I look down at my feet and rub my neck. “Um, uh… I’m just a stay-at-home mom.’”

Michael Kruger addresses five common misconceptions about the Christmas story—stars, inns, mangers, wise men, and so on.

“Songs are shepherding tools. We think of the word preached as a tool of the shepherd, and it is. We think of prayer as a shepherding tool, and it is. We think of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as shepherding tools, and they are. But do we think of the songs as shepherding tools?” Jacob says we should and explains his reasoning.

It’s not often you find a Dutch Reformed pastor writing about dancing, but I’m glad Wes did here. “The return of Christ is when we’ll dance for joy. I mean that quite literally. That’s because the return of Christ brings about the resurrection of the dead. Our bodies will be raised imperishable. In that final state, we’ll have corporeal bodies with which to dance for joy.”

Cheryl explains how encouraging it was to listen carefully to the familiar Christmas songs. “I began to listen more closely to versions of traditional carols played during the Christmas season, paying attention to the words rather than just humming along with the familiar melodies.”

Your goodness unmasks the badness of the unbelievers around you. Your light illumines their darkness…And all of this is true even though you are so far from perfect, even though so much of the old man remains.

Faith is quenching the soul’s thirst at the fountain of God.
—John Piper