Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

There are a few new Kindle deals that are well worth a look.
Be sure to check out this long list of Cyber Monday deals that may be of interest.
When God’s Sovereign Will Seems Inscrutable
“Sometimes God’s sovereign will seems inscrutable, especially when it involves His allowing overwhelming trial or crushing disappointment. Or when He permits the thwarting of what consecrated Christians had become thoroughly convinced was in keeping with His plan and would bring great glory to Him.” Vance Christie illustrates this from Elisabeth Elliot’s life.
Not-Really-Already-But-Definitely-Not Yet
Samuel James: “For the last few years I’ve thought much about what happens to our relationships, our beliefs, and even our minds when the whole range of human experience is translated to a digital medium.”
Nothing is Impossible…
“When you face things that are impossible it can bring up many questions. What will happen if we cannot make ends meet? Will my wayward child ever come back to the Lord? Will I always be alone? Will I get better? What if my friend or family member never comes to know Jesus?”
Benefits of Giving Thanks
Barbara Harper: “Though our US holiday of Thanksgiving is over, giving thanks should continue. This year I saw some benefits to thanksgiving, some of which I don’t remember noticing before.”
External bodies are advisory, not authority
This is common-sense but important. “If you are an independent, the independency of the local church is something you kind of camp out on. It’s not some side issue. It is fundamental to what you believe about the church and, therefore, fundamental to who you are as a church. This is never more true than when it comes to matters of church discipline.”
Injustice: The Gratitude Snatcher
This would be good to ponder post-Thanksgiving. “No one wants to walk in ingratitude, and yet gratitude can be so quickly snatched from us.”
Flashback: The Sad, Sad Story You Need To Tell God
“You have lost the light of God’s face, not because He has arbitrarily withdrawn it, but because your iniquities have come between you and your God; and your sins, like a cloud before the sun, have hid His face from you.”
Every time you get angry, you make your values and point of view explicit. —David Powlison

Christians speak often of God’s sovereignty. Reformed Christians speak very often of God’s sovereignty. God’s sovereignty refers to his presence in this world, his authority over this world, and his control within this world. God owns and oversees his creation to such a degree that nothing happens apart from his knowledge, apart from his will, apart from his wisdom. There is nothing we are given that does not in some way pass through his hands.

As we speak of God’s sovereignty we have to ensure that we do not speak of it only theoretically, that we do not relegate it purely to the realm of the intellectual, for it is no mere abstract doctrine but one that is sweet and precious and ought to be close to the heart of every Christian. This is a doctrine that gives us hope in every sorrow, that lends meaning to every pain, that gives confidence in every circumstance.
Perhaps it is good to consider some of what would be true if God is not sovereign.
If God is not sovereign we cannot be confident in our salvation. We cannot trust that his gospel is the only true gospel, that his salvation is effective, that his way is the right way. For if he is not sovereign, the will of another being may supersede his, the plan of another may outrival his, the word of another may take precedence over his. Unless God is sovereign, our very salvation is in doubt.
If God is not sovereign we cannot be confident that there is meaning in our suffering. We have no assurance that the difficulties we endure are actually consistent with his will and that he is actually bringing good from bad, light from darkness, laughter from tears. Unless God is sovereign we have no reason for hope as we look to the future and no reason for trust that God will prove that all we’ve endured is but a light and momentary affliction when compared to the great weight of glory to come.
If God is not sovereign we cannot be confident in evangelism. We will be prone to take credit when others believe the message and prone to take blame when others fail to believe it. We will be prone even to take credit for our own salvation, for if God is not sovereign, than perhaps we are.
If God is not sovereign we cannot be confident that we will remain in the faith. We have no assurance that we will not be swayed by another teaching, that we will not be drawn away by another faith. We have no assurance that God will be proven true when he says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Unless God is sovereign, another powerful being may compel us to reject the faith and be lost forever.
If God is not sovereign we cannot be confident that Christ will return. Though God has promised that Christ will be revealed from heaven and the mighty angels with him, what if another being with greater authority can shut down God’s plan or deny God’s desire? Unless God is sovereign we look to the future with uncertainty rather than confidence, with hope that is shaky and trepidatious rather than firmly fixed.
But if God is sovereign, we can be confident in our salvation, confident that there is meaning in our suffering, confident that our evangelism will be effective, confident that we will remain in the faith, confident that Christ will return, confident in all God is, in all he does, in all he says, in all he has promised. Our faith is rightly fixed in the God who, in the majestic words of the Heidelberg Catechism, “upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand.”

In the lead up to Black Friday, Logos has deals on a number of commentary bundles. You’ll find deep discounts on bundles for Anchor Yale Bible Commentary, New American Commentary, Preaching the Word Commentary, and Tyndale Old and New Testament Commentary.

Meanwhile, if you’re into Kindle deals, be sure to check today’s list as you’ll find the entire Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series discounted to $4.99 per volume—a fantastic deal on a premier series.
(Yesterday on the blog: To the Impetuous and Impulsive)
Welcoming the World’s Oldest Babies
“Three weeks ago—on Monday, October 31—Rachel Ridgeway gave birth to the oldest babies in the world. Nearly 30 years ago, Lydia Ann and Timothy Ronald were conceived in a fertility clinic. Hours later, they were frozen.” This is a really neat story from Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra.
Can Christians Date Nonbelievers?
I think this is my new favorite treatment of this topic, and especially because of the passage the author turns to.
Giving Thanks for Seasons Past
Grace, who has endured some difficult providences, gives thanks for seasons past.
What does “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” mean?
“What exactly does this phrase from James mean? Does it mean that we will receive everything we pray for, or that holiness strengthens our prayers? Before answering these questions and pointing out the characteristics of effective prayer, let’s look at the verse in its context.”
On Thankfulness
This is a truth we all need to learn. “God, by definition, does not do things that are not good. He is goodness. He cannot act otherwise.”
Four Practical Ways to Cultivate Personal Evangelism
Here are some very simple and very practical ways to cultivate personal evangelism.
Flashback: Helpful Things You Can Say to Grieving Parents
I recently consulted with a few other parents who have experienced the loss of a child and want to offer a few things you can say to grieving parents that may prove an encouragement to them—a flicker of light in their time of deep darkness.

Remember that no sin can stand before the efficacy of Christ’s blood. —John Flavel