Last week brought the news that Don Lewis has died—Dr. Donald Munro Lewis, professor of church history at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is remembered there with great affection not only as a skilled teacher of church history, but as a spiritual companion to many, a faithful mentor, and a man who was committed to prayer. And though I met Don only a handful of times, and though we were only infrequent correspondents, I owe him pretty much everything.

Long before Don was a professor at Regent, or even a student there, he attended Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec, very close to his hometown of Sherbrooke. Don was raised in a Christian home and became a believer at a young age. His father led a church in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada and it was as a Pentecostal that Don enrolled at Bishop’s University, a school associated with Anglicanism. Bishop’s is set in the beautiful Eastern Townships of Quebec, quite near to Montreal where my father was raised and closer still to the small towns where my mother grew up. It was on the campus of Bishop’s that these three lives would intersect.
Dad had grown up in a privileged home, the son of a Superior Court Justice. But his family life had been turbulent, often dominated and disrupted by a sister who suffered from severe mental illness and who committed suicide when dad was in his teens. (Nancy’s story, as I have explained elsewhere, became the subject of Leonard Cohen’s song “Seems So Long Ago, Nancy”.) Unusually intelligent and always interested in ideas, dad enrolled in Bishop’s to study philosophy. But though he understood philosophy, he couldn’t make himself believe in philosophy. He didn’t buy it as the ultimate explanation for his ultimate questions. His heart remained restless. Angry even. Despairing.
In the final year of dad’s undergraduate studies, he and Don Lewis became fast friends. They were soon spending hours together discussing life, faith, God, and everything in between. As they talked, Don found opportunities to explain the gospel of grace and to call dad to it. And eventually dad realized he had finally found ideas that were big enough to fill his mind and great enough to satisfy his heart. Here’s how Don explained it in the eulogy he delivered at my father’s funeral:

Slowly his questions were heard, his raging against life and God was stilled. After about six months John had found his way into the Kingdom of God. John Wesley said of the people in a small town in Cornwall of the impact of his preaching: “the lions have become lambs.” Or as Puritan preachers might have said, “The roaring lion vanquished by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Vanquished, but not that John ever lost his passion, or his asking of deep questions.

In the same eulogy Don said that his friendship with dad “was one of the great gifts that has shaped my life.“ I know dad would have said just the same.
Meanwhile, mom had also become a student at Bishop’s and, though she succeeded academically, found herself doing poorly otherwise. She had determined that life was meaningless, that she could never find hope and joy, that there was no solution to the guilt she felt or to the knowledge of the evil that dwelt within her. She had determined she would give herself a few more days and, if in that time she could not find a reason to live, would simply take her own life and be done with it. Sitting alone on campus one day, dad came bounding up to her. They had met a couple of times and had even gone on one date, and she knew him just well enough to know that something about him was different. In his zeal, dad began to tell her all about his newfound faith. He begged her to go out to dinner with him two days later so he could tell her more about it. She went, though almost against her will. On that very evening she, too, came to faith after dad led her to some Christians Don had introduced him to.
Mom and dad were married just a few months later. With university now behind them they decided to travel through Europe and, for whatever reason, Don journeyed with them. But real life beckoned and it was not long before their ways parted. Don decided to pursue further education and studied first at Regent, then at Oxford. He became a committed Anglican along the way and, alongside his friend and colleague J.I. Packer, devoted much of his life to fostering a healthy Anglicanism. Meanwhile, mom and dad had spent time with Francis Schaeffer and his family and become committed Presbyterians. But though their ways and Don’s parted and they settled on opposite sides of a very large country, they stayed in touch, even if only sporadically. Regent’s remembrance of Don says: “Prior to Covid-19, it was not unusual for Don to spend his reading week flying from Atlanta to Minneapolis to Winnipeg to visit the many alumni and pastors he mentored.” He made many of these Pauline missionary journeys and a number of them led to our home and to my parents—his way of continuing to invest in the people he had led to Jesus.
Mom and dad had five children, and all of us know the Lord. We have 16 children between us, and they all know the Lord—at least, those who are old enough to be able to express it. But there’s more. Dad told his mom about Jesus and she believed. He told his older sister and she, too, believed. Mom told her sister and she believed. And those families, too, now boast three generations of believers. And if we trace the Christian faith of all these people—perhaps 40 or 50 of us now—they all eventually converge on Don Lewis. They all converge on a young man who simply and faithfully shared the gospel.
Jesus told a parable about a farmer who went into his fields to sow seed. He scattered it far and wide. Some fell along the path where it was quickly gobbled up by birds; some fell on rocky soil where it sprang up but, because its roots had no depth, was scorched by the sun; some fell among weeds where it was choked out by thorns; but some fell onto good soil where it put down deep roots, grew well, and produced a crop that was 30 or 60 or 100 times more plentiful than itself. And this is exactly how the Lord does his work, through ordinary people like Don when they share the extraordinarily Good News of the gospel. Don told dad; dad told mom; they told me; I told Aileen; we told our children; they will tell theirs. And so it will go until the full harvest is gathered in, until the Lord returns, until we are all reunited before Him.
As friends and family gather to remember Don, to lament his departure but rejoice in his homegoing, I find myself praising God for his life and legacy, for in a small way I am part of that legacy—that legacy of faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ. “In some ways I consider you my spiritual grandson,” he once wrote me, “as I was, under God, someone who had a significant role in your father’s coming to faith.” And in just that way, under the kind providence of God, I owe everything to Don Lewis.

This week the blog is sponsored by Burke Care.
You are good and do good; teach me your statutes. Psalm 119:68
Corrie ten Boom as quoted as saying:
“If you look at the world, you will be distressed. If you look within, you will be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you will be at rest.”
This psalmist reached the same conclusion when he wrote this verse. He realized that the only true rest comes from God the Father, through Jesus the Son by the Holy Spirit. And he wants more…
“You are good…” The psalmist is not trying to invent a catchy marketing quip to attract fellow Jews to the ways of God. This is a real-life summary of his experience with His God. After significant struggle and grief, the psalmist finds himself surrendering to a sovereign God by simply acknowledging what he now fully understands, “God, you are good!”
“…and do good…”  Then the psalmist is quick to acknowledge that God is not silent or inactive. He is an initiating God who does good in addition to being God. He is not distant or aloof. God the Father is the ever present, close, self-initiating God who does good, always. 
The psalmist does not say it specifically, but he is implying that God is always this way. He is implying that God is always good, and always does only good.
“…teach me your statutes.” Then he concludes with the request to be taught more of God’s goodness. The psalmist admits that he wants to pursue learning about the full  goodness of God. He acknowledges God’s “goodness” attribute and now he is expressing his desire to be taught the fullness of God’s goodness. 
This is not unlike finishing a wonderfully healthy delicious meal only to acknowledge that the flavor of the meal was amazing, and the nutritiousness of the meal was incredible. And then asking for more…
“If you look at the world, you will be distressed. If you look within, you will be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you will be at rest.”Corrie ten BoomShare
But you may not be there. Your plate may be loaded with struggles. You may find yourself weary, emotionally dry and undernourished spiritually. For you, this verse may be a reminder to cling to during challenging times. This verse may need to be more like “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” as found later in Psalm 119:105.
If you are experiencing overwhelming feelings of guilt, shame, or loneliness, this verse can become a promise to you. It can be like a light at the end of this dark season that you can pursue. Perhaps moving forward is difficult to imagine. I would encourage you to remind yourself of how Corrie ten Boom interpreted her struggles. She chose not to resolve her difficult circumstances on the hope of the world or the hope of herself. She resolved her heart to focus on Jesus, the Christ, our Savior. That is where we find rest. 
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. – Psalm 23:4 ESV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. – Psalm 23:1-3 ESV
To learn more about Burke Care or find a counselor, you can go to www.burkecare.org.
Father, You are good and You do good.  I want to know more about who You are and what You promise. I want to be conformed into the image of Jesus who is the prefect image of You. I want more of You and I want to be more like You. Change me and make me into the image of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Application Questions:

When are the times that I lose sight of what God has for me and stray away from Him?
What areas of my life am I the self-appointed expert in and refuse to allow others to speak into?
Where do I tend to not consider God as being good or even doing good?

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Black Friday is behind us and that brings us to Cyber Monday, another opportunity to track down some good deals. I spent a good bit of time hunting around for bargains and am sharing them here. You may notice that some of them are the same as the Black Friday specials while others are entirely different.

Amazon
Amazon has discounts on thousands of items. Of interest to me is their Kindle e-readers (and other devices) which are on sale today.
(If you are viewing this through the email newsletter, you won’t be able to see the Kindle deals. Click here to see them on my site.)

Kindle Oasis (my preferred device), Kindle Paperwhite, or Kindle (basic)
C.S. Lewis Signature Classics at 63% off
A large selection of board games are 50% off or more (including family favorites like Ticket to Ride, Catan, Pandemic, and literally hundreds more)
A lot of building toys like Knex, Lego, etc, as well as learning and tech toys
Home brands like KitchenAid, Ninja, Nespresso, Bissell, Vitamix, De’Longhi, Keurig, Yeti, and Amazon
Significant savings on 2023’s most popular general market books in their print versions (which includes Jinger Duggar Vuolo’s Becoming Free Indeed)
There is also a long list of “religion and spirituality” books discounted in their print versions. Among them you’ll find some good picks such as;

And then, of course, much, much more.
Westminster Books
Westminster Books has 200 of their best and bestselling books on sale with discounts in the range of 50% – 70% off. They have also launched a new volume by Richard Gaffin at a significant discount. Here are some representative deals:

They also have all ESVs at 50% off:

You might also like to look at their Christmas Gift Guide for gift ideas.
Logos
Logos has a host of products discounted for Cyber Monday—an entirely different list than on Friday. Here’s what they are offering today:

My top recommendations here would be the Challies Recommends bundle since it curates some of the best commentaries, the ESV Expository Commentary series, along with the Mentor commentary series. If you are collecting the NSBT series, you won’t find them much cheaper than they are today.
10ofThose
10ofThose, which is both a bookstore and a publisher, has a wide selection of books discounted up to 77%. They include:

10ofThose also provides the storefront for The Gospel Coalition and is offering many TGC products with similar discounts.
Accordance
Accordance is keeping it simple by offering a blanket 25% off anything with the coupon code 25-ALL.
Banner of Truth
Banner of Truth is having their annual Christmas sale with deals of up to 50% off. This PDF has the details. It looks like some of their sets of books have the best discounts.
Christian Book Distributors
Christian Book Distributors has lots of deals on books and Bibles, as well as homeschool material. Shipping is free with code CYBER23.

Crossway
Crossway+ members can browse the Christmas Gift Guide and order anything at 50% off. Crossway+ membership is free.
The Good Book Company
The Good Book Company is offering 30% off everything on their site plus free shipping. Bundles and sets are discounted up to 40%.
Matthias Media
Matthias Media has a good selection of their books on sale. Many are as low as $3 or $5.
Missional Wear
Missional Wear has select products at up to 50% off, plus you can save 15% site-wide using discount code CHALLIES15.
P&R Publishing
P&R is offering 35% off all titles with coupon code NOV23. Select titles are discounted 40% off.
Reformation Heritage Books
Reformation Heritage Books has a wide variety of their books and series on sale.
Visual Theology
Visual Theology is offering 50% off memberships with code BLACK2023. Digital Bible Cards and the 2023 Gospel Advent Calendar are also half off with BLACK2023. Then be sure to take a look at their new Advent Coloring Book.
Wretched
Wretched, aka Todd Friel, has up to 50% off on books, booklets, DVDs, merch, and so on.