May the God of love and peace be with you today, my friends.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Music of Heaven)
When Activists Do History
This is really interesting: “There exists today a growing trend among historians that represents a significant departure from the traditional scholarly approach to writing and teaching history. This trend involves the merging of history and activism to form essentially an entirely new genre which is part historical narrative and part advocacy. As a genre, it might be referred to as ‘pop history,’ but perhaps a more technical title would be activist historiography.”
Can We Speak with Angels?
John Piper answers.
Sending Love
This is a sweet article about Christian encouragement. “The most potent acts and words of encouragement spring from the well of love found in Christ. And the most satisfying and soul-quenching examples of love, big and small, also point back to Him.”
A Common Face
“One of the best things my church’s women’s ministry does is to have someone share their testimony at our events. I am often stunned at what I hear from the ordinary women around me – women who quietly go about their everyday lives while harboring beautiful, compelling stories of God’s mercy. Why do we pander and scramble to hear the famous, successful and beautiful people speak, when God’s glory is just waiting to be displayed by the sisters and brothers around us?”
How to Argue Against Gender-Transition Interventions for Children
Joe Carter offers one way to argue against gender-transition interventions for children.
Mansions for Homeless Souls
“The closer we follow Jesus, the more we realize this world is not our home.” That’s so simple, but so true.
Flashback: Has the Bible Been Preserved For Us Today?
Though the Scriptures have passed through countless scribes and many forms— from papyrus to paper to phone— you can be confident that the Word you read today is the very Word that was breathed out by God and written by the prophets and apostles.

The horror of a guilty conscience is in itself the beginning of hell’s torments. —William Perkins

This week the blog is sponsored by Moody Publishers and this post is adapted from The Kindness of God by Nate Pickowicz (© 2024). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.
Just like the Old Testament, the New Testament teaches that this wonderful salvation is extended to us as a kindness. Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians by talking about God’s gracious work of salvation toward His people. In saving His people, God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself ” (Eph. 1:4–5a). What is the basis of God’s saving work? We read that it is “according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:5; cf. Eph. 1:9, emphasis added). We are saved because God extends His own lovingkindness to us.
Furthermore, despite being “dead in [our] trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), God “made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (v. 5). Why? It is “so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7, emphasis added). Through His own act of salvation, God puts His loving character on display, and we are presented as trophies of His divine grace.
It is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that makes the forgiveness of sin possible for us. Nate PickowiczShare
Similarly, in Paul’s letter to Titus, we see another expression of God’s kindness in salvation. We read, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us . . .” (Titus 3:4–5a). In this verse, we essentially see Jesus Christ as God’s kindness personified. One could almost picture God’s own love and kindness wrapped in the person of Jesus who comes and redeems us.  What a glorious picture!
The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Him-self God in human flesh (John 1:1–3, 14), came to earth and lived in perfect obedience to every law of God, thus perfectly fulfilling the divine standard. Jesus lived sinlessly (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22), and thereby gave Himself up to be killed as an atoning sacrifice—a propitiation—for sin (1 John 2:2). Being the only acceptable sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ died in the place of sinners as a substitute (1 Peter 2:24), paying a ransom to the Father; redeeming us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13).
Through the sacrificial death of Jesus, we can have our sins forgiven by God (Col. 2:13), and we are justified—declared righteous and pardoned by God, even though we’re guilty and unrighteous (Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:16). It is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that makes the forgiveness of sin possible for us. And not only forgiveness, but reconciliation to God—the restoration of relationship. More than this, God actually adopts us as His own (Rom. 8:12–17; Gal. 4:4–7). Now, we who were formerly His enemies have now become God’s children.
It is only by the death of Christ that we will find any hope of forgiveness for sin. All other attempts to “get right with God” are doomed to fail. Why? Because, by nature, we are sinful creatures, and when we try to accomplish anything of redeeming value, God turns up His nose and is repulsed by the gesture (Isa. 64:6–7). Any attempt we make to justify ourselves before Him is insulting and futile. Only the perfect work of Jesus Christ on our behalf is pleasing to the Father. All in all, we see that God’s offer of salvation to sinners is a glorious demonstration of His goodness and kindness. 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are some good Kindle deals today, including a new biography about the Spurgeons.
(Yesterday on the blog: God’s Pop-Up Book)
Deadly children’s games
I expect you’ve been hearing about Netflix’s hit series Squid Game. This review from WORLD tells what it’s all about.
A Cultural Moment for Revival?
“While our culture continues to slip into chaotic depravity, more and more people are voicing their fears and frustrations. What will become of this country? What will become of the world? What challenges will our children face? The darkness seems to be overtaking the light.” But all is not lost.
God’s not “They:” Divine Pronouns Matter
John Stonestreet is clear that we should not mess with God’s pronouns. “God isn’t a force or an energy with no opinion of what we think about Him. God is a person, with specific characteristics. God is not a nebulous blob to be molded according to our wishes. God is infinite, but He is not indefinite.”
Planting Forests
This is a needed reminder that good things often take plenty of time. “Yes, it often took hundreds of years for the momentum to grow strong and wide enough for large-scale change. But should that mean we don’t make the attempt? Not at all.”
From “What if” to “Even If”
“Someone once said that if the thing we worry about doesn’t happen, we’ve wasted all that angst and energy and head space. And if it does happen, we’ve doubled the toll it would have taken by worrying about it beforehand. That helps me put aside worried questions and supposing. But something else helps me even more.”
Navigating the Preaching Rut
Here’s help for the preacher who feels like he’s in a rut. “Unfortunately, not all ruts are equal. Ruts on the farm can keep you from driving into a hole. But what about when you feel like you are in a rut when preaching?”
The Week Coleraine Stood Still
This is an inspiring account of the 1859 revival in the town of Coleraine, on the north coast of Ireland.
Flashback: Pastoring Is So Much More Than Preaching
A shepherd doesn’t only lead his sheep to pasture and water, but also watches them to guard them from all harm.

Consider how precious a soul must be, when both God and the devil are after it. —Charles Spurgeon