Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

There’s a nice little list of Kindle deals for the collectors.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Best Friendship in the World)
The Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Be a Christian in 2022
Joe Carter looks at a recent report about the countries where it’s most dangerous to be a Christian.
Ten Words for a Broken Society (#9: No False Witness)
Bruce Ashford continues his interesting series on the Ten Commandments. “Whereas the third commandment forbids us from telling a lie about God or attacking his name, the ninth commandment prohibits us from bearing false witness against our neighbor, i.e., from attacking our neighbor’s name: ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor’ (Ex 20: 16). And while this speaks specifically to courtroom situations, its implications are much broader.”
3 Things God Will Never Do with Your Sin
“Consider for a moment how we ‘deal’ with others. We keep fresh in our minds their injustices toward us. We nurture the memory of their faults and failings. We never let them forget what they did and we often make sure others are mindful of it as well. We seek every opportunity, often secretly and surreptitiously, to make them pay for their transgressions. We hold it in our hearts and over their heads and persuade ourselves that it’s only fair that they be treated this way.”
Marks of Manhood
Nick Batzig: “At a time when there is more confusion in the culture about gender and role relations, it would help us to take a step back and consider what Scripture sets forth as the model of manhood, namely, the Lord Jesus.”
When the Nest May Never Be Empty
Parents typically look forward to the day the nest will be empty. But for some, that’s just not reality. “When independence is the end goal for following Jesus, or for parenting, our faith is, unrecognizable from what God himself describes.”
A Proverb on Having Your Cake
I find idioms fascinating, perhaps especially when they originate from a different culture.
Flashback: Aging Brings Life-Shaping Decisions
In every way, we must be disciplined in our pursuit of God, we must build habits of holiness. We must not succumb to the ease of complacency.

They are fools that fear to lose their wealth by giving, but fear not to lose themselves by keeping it. —John Trapp

Good morning from [groggily checks Google Maps] Brisbane, Australia, where I’m connecting on to the Pacific Islands. This trip has been good so far and is now past the halfway point.

Westminster Books is doing some spring cleaning and that has resulted in some good deals.
Today’s Kindle deals include a solid commentary on Romans.
A Constant Dying
“What do I mean? Dying for Christ takes a moment of extreme courage and resolve from the hand of God, but living for Christ requires a sustained courage that beats back the devil and the flesh daily. It’s a constant dying.”
What Is a Man? What Is a Woman? How Our Laws Should Define Male and Female
Justin Taylor is always the master at finding interesting material and helpfully summarizing it.
What does a true theologian look like?
What does a true theologian look like? Ligon Duncan gets an assist in defining it.
If Jesus Were Still Dead…
This is a simple but effective thought experiment.
3 Things You Should Know about John’s Gospel
“When we come to the gospel according to John, it is immediately apparent that, although it deals with the same subject matter, it has a distinctive angle. Instead of providing a synopsis of Christ’s life and work, it provides a selective overview highlighting the defining elements of who Jesus is and what sets Him apart as the only One who can rightly be acknowledged as ‘the Christ.’”
Christian fantasy after Tolkien: a Top 10
There is no one quite like Tolkien. But if you’ve read him and gotten interested in fantasy, here are some good next steps from Reformed Perspective.
Flashback: How to Encourage that Preacher
The faithful preacher is content to be forgotten so Jesus can be remembered. “I forgot all about you” may be one of the most encouraging things a preacher can hear.

God, through the perfect life, atoning death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, rescues all his people from the wrath of God into peace with God, with a promise of the full restoration of his created order forever. —Ray Ortlund

Peter lives in the shadow of Paul. When we think of the early church, when we think of the Apostles, when we think of the doctrine of the New Testament, our minds probably go first to Paul. And perhaps rightly so, since he is responsible for the majority of the didactic parts of the New Testament.

The Life of Peter

Yet it was Peter, not Paul, who was a friend of Jesus and one of his followers from the beginning of his earthly ministry to his ascension. It was Peter who was called “Rock,” Peter who witnessed Christ’s transfiguration, and Peter who served as a clear leader among the earliest Christians. With all this in mind, we overlook Peter to our detriment.
Derek Thomas recently made a long study of the life and ministry of Peter and the result is The Life of Peter: Molded in the Master’s Hands. In it, he examines Peter’s life from the accounts in the Gospels and the book of Acts. He also draws occasionally from Peter’s two epistles. There are gaps, of course, since Peter disappears from the biblical narrative after Acts 15. Though his name subsequently appears a couple of times in Paul’s epistles, it is history that picks up the trail again and tells of his execution by Nero in around 64 AD.
Still, the biblical data provides lots to work with, and Thomas does a great job of telling Peter’s life beginning with the time we meet him at around 30 years of age. At that time he was an unknown small-town businessman who owned a fishing operation with his brother Andrew and two of their friends. He and his brother heard about a man named John the Baptist who was preaching in the wilderness and offering a baptism of repentance. At one point Andrew and an unnamed friend (possibly John) heard the Baptist identify Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” Andrew ran to his brother to tell him “We have found the Messiah.” And neither Peter nor the world was ever the same.
Thomas’ account progresses through Peter’s life, pausing often to draw lessons and provide application. This is not mere biography, but biography drawn from Scripture and, therefore, profitable for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Each of those features prominently in the book, making it almost devotional in nature.
The Life of Peter is a relatively brief book, but one that covers its subject well. Thomas meant for his book to be helpful to Christians and, indeed it is. It is helpful in tracing the life of one of Scripture’s key characters, helpful in informing the reader’s mind, and helpful in challenging and encouraging the reader’s heart.