This week the blog has been sponsored by the Ministry Network by Westminister. And today they are giving away a great book bundle! Church life is filled with joys and trials, tragedies, and triumphs. Along this journey, Ministry Network offers encouragement and support. On our podcast, you can learn from the experience and advice of…

My gratitude goes to Boyce College for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you (and the young folk in your home) about their upcoming D3 Winter Conference.

Westminster Books has launched a new season of their interview series and they interviewed me on Seasons of Sorrow.
There are, indeed, some new Kindle deals today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Into the Light)
Do Affections Provide Assurance?
Erik Raymond: “Where do you look for assurance of salvation? Or, to put it another way, what causes you to question your assurance?”
Surviving the Winter of Suffering
Lara writes transparently here: “During a blizzard of suffering, I drew the blinds down in my heart. I pulled inward so I could survive. I eked out a small corner for myself and gave the bare minimum to the world. I didn’t know any other way forward. I met the needs of my family, I checked off the homekeeping list, and then I crawled back into the darkness.”
What was God doing before creation? (Video)
Michael Reeves answers here, though if you’ve read Delighting in the Trinity you already know the answer.
Be of Good Cheer, Your Seasons Are In God’s Hands
“More than ever before, I’m recognizing how the external, visible things we present to the world have their own hidden life cycles. When we see the perfectly executed cheer routine, the long-awaited novel hit the shelves, or the new business launched, that’s harvest day. It’s that moment we’ve dreamed of and longed for, but it’s only a fraction of the process. It took months of planting, watering, and tending to make harvest day possible.”
Productive Christians: Worth Imitating
“Last week in Romania a 2000 year old, fully intact, Roman road was discovered. It was well-built and intact. Many Roman era roads are still used today. This road was built in 106AD. For generations, Roman road engineering was passed down from one builder to another. Imitation provided longevity in the passing down of this skill.”
Why should I Forgive?
Guy Richard is beginning a series on forgiveness. The first entry is already helpful.
Flashback: The Only Tears In Heaven
What greater promise do we have than this, that in a moment God will comfort all sorrow, that his tender hand will wipe away not just some tears, but every tear?

Our rejection of God left our world in chaos. Because God alone possesses infinite glory and goodness, our lives only work with him at the center. —J.D. Greear

We live at an interesting time, a time in which so much is changing. Norms that have existed and been accepted for decades or even centuries are quickly fading and being supplanted by what is new and novel. This is especially true of those norms that were based on Scripture and its instruction on what is right and wrong, true and false, beautiful and ugly.

Known for Love

Many of the issues that have seen significant changes in the past few years are related to sexuality. Dissenting voices began outside the church but have more recently been welcomed within it—voices telling us that we have been wrong all along and that so much of what we thought God forbade is actually permitted by him and delightful to him. Those who hold fast to biblical teaching are often left wondering how to relate to friends and family members who disagree with them or even friends and family members who define themselves as gay, lesbian, transgendered, or any other number of identities. Thankfully, we are quickly being well-resourced with books and other tools meant to help express love to family and friends without compromising truth.
One new resource is Casey Hough’s Known for Love. Hough is a parent, pastor, and professor and all three roles are evident within his book. He “aims to equip you to be known for love in a world that is ‘no friend of grace.’” In his various positions in life, he counsels parents whose children are confused about what it means to be a man or a woman, he comforts grandparents whose grandchildren are abandoning the faith they once professed in favor of pursuing the sexual revolution, and he works with leaders of churches to sharpen their convictions about sexuality. All of this comes to bear in the pages of Known for Love.
The book’s teaching on the subject is woven around five chapters of biblical theology—chapters that provide the biblical framework that supports his response to today’s urgent issues. That framework will be familiar to many readers: Creation, crisis, Christ, Creation regained, and our place in God’s redemptive plan. “This framework will help us navigate some of the tougher questions about how we are called to live as believers in the New Testament,” he explains. “My interest is not so much in providing some ‘ethical answer key’ for Christians. Instead, I want to equip you with a biblical foundation from which we can develop principles of engagement for a faithful Christian life.” In other words, a faithful Christian life must be built on a right understanding of God, his Word, and his world.
Apart from the framework chapters are the practical chapters and these address many of today’s big questions and concerns.

Is the concept of homosexuality really in the Bible or have modern translators mis-translated the original words and intent?
Is it true that Jesus never spoke about homosexuality and, if so, what significance does this have?
Should Christians who experience same-sex attraction refer to themselves as “gay Christians?”
Should I attend a wedding for a gay couple or invite them to my home for Thanksgiving dinner?
How should I relate to people who say they are transgendered? How can I speak to this issue with my children? And what should my church do if a transgendered person wants to join a Bible study meant for his chosen sex rather than his biological sex?

Hough answers these questions and many others like them and does so with wisdom and grace. He looks constantly to Scripture and, as the subtitle states, steadfastly refuses to compromise biblical truth. He speaks the truth with love—true love that will not affirm what God forbids.
Known for Love is an excellent book and one that any Christian can read with confidence. It will provide the wisdom and motivate the courage that will allow God’s people to press on in loving others while standing firm on all the Bible commands.