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Today’s Kindle deals include several more titles from the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series. There are other titles to look at as well. (Do you prefer print books? Then look at this page with deals, discounts, and specials on print books.)

(Yesterday on the blog: 10 Christian Mega-Projects Released In 2024)

Joe Carter put together one of his helpful FAQs to explain what recently transpired at the U.S. Supreme Court and why it matters. “On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti, an important case that will determine whether states have the right to protect children from medical attempts to change their bodies for the purpose of ‘affirming’ gender identity.”

Stephen Steele draws an important lesson from Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son. “Many of the same people who are outraged by Biden’s behaviour (or who will be outraged if Trump follows suit) expect God to do the same thing. The German poet Henrich Heine was asked by a priest on his deathbed if he expected God to forgive him. He is reported to have replied: ‘Of course God will forgive me; that’s his job’. That is still a common attitude today.”

Should Christians view (or create) creepy, darker media? John Piper takes on the question here.

Tim explains one thing that many people get wrong about Doubting Thomas.

Seth Lewis has some counsel for those who are approaching midlife to help them head off a full-blown midlife crisis.

Should Christians pray only to the Father, or can we also pray to the Son and the Spirit? I appreciate Fred Sanders’ answer here.

Each of us has the joy and the sacred responsibility of displaying the beauty, the glory, of a foreign land here in this broken world.

If you are not concerned about holiness, you are not concerned about the Great Commission.
—Kevin DeYoung

I recently came across a wonderful prayer penned by Archibald Alexander many years ago. In it he prays that God would bless and protect him through the years of old age and into the gates of heaven. May his prayer be ours!

O most merciful God, cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength declineth. Now, when I am old and grey-headed, forsake me not; but let Thy grace be sufficient for me; and enable me to bring forth fruit, even in old age. May my hoary head be found in the ways of righteousness! Preserve my mind from dotage and imbecility, and my body from protracted disease and excruciating pain. Deliver me from despondency and discouragement in my declining years, and enable me to bear affliction with patience, fortitude, and perfect submission to Thy holy will.
As, in the course of nature, I must be drawing near to my end, and as I know I must soon put off this tabernacle, I do humbly and earnestly beseech Thee, O Father of mercies, to prepare me for this inevitable and solemn event: Fortify my mind against the terrors of death. Give me, if it please Thee, an easy passage through the gate of death. Dissipate the dark clouds and mists which naturally hang over the grave, and lead me gently down into the gloomy valley. O my kind Shepherd, who hast tasted the bitterness of death for me, and who knowest how to sympathize with and succour the sheep of Thy pasture, be Thou present to guide, to support, and to comfort me. Illumine with beams of heavenly light the valley and shadow of death, so that I may fear no evil. When heart and flesh fail, be Thou the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. Let not my courage fail in the trying hour. Permit not the great adversary to harass my soul in the last struggle, but make me a conqueror and more than a conqueror in this fearful conflict.
I humbly ask that my reason may be continued to the last, and if it be Thy will, that I may be so comforted and supported, that I may leave a testimony in favour of the reality of religion, and Thy faithfulness in fulfilling Thy gracious promises; and that others of Thy servants who may follow after may be encouraged by my example to commit themselves boldly to the guidance and keeping of the Shepherd of Israel.
And when my spirit leaves this clay tenement, Lord Jesus, receive it. Send some of the blessed angels to convoy my inexperienced soul to the mansion which Thy love has prepared. And O! let me be so situated, though in the lowest rank, that I may behold Thy glory. May I have an abundant entrance administered unto me into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; for whose sake, and in whose name, I ask all these things. Amen.

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We Live in Confusing Times
Kevin DeYoung leads an intellectual exercise meant to prove that we live in confusing times, especially as it pertains to matters of gender and sexuality.
Weak for Those We Love
Chris Martin shares a sweet reflection on fatherhood.
Struggling on Your Behalf in Prayers
“It may be one of the most overlooked ministries we can perform for others: to struggle on their behalf in our prayers.” Darryl Dash explains.
Get the Best Deal on Al Mohler’s Grace & Truth Study Bible
Follow the link or use Promo Code 10CHALLIES and take an additional $10 off any print edition on Amazon. That $10 on top of Amazon’s already-discounted price. Under the guidance of general editor Dr. Albert Mohler, the NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible paints a stunning canvas of the goodness of God’s redemptive plan revealed in the gospel of Jesus. (Sponsored Link)
Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables?
“Why did Jesus speak in parables?” The answer is quite interesting.
What Convinced James His Brother Was God?
“My brother isn’t God. It’s pretty obvious (we grew up together, after all), and nothing he could do or say could convince me of his divinity. I’m not God, either, and nothing I could do or say would convince him otherwise, too. Yet somehow, Jesus convinced his brother he was God. And James was so confident, he was willing to die for his belief. How did Jesus do it? What convinced his own brother to acknowledge Jesus was God and worship him?”
When “I” Becomes “We”
“I’ve always been independent. Maybe it’s because I’m the firstborn of three children, or maybe it’s my personality, but doing things on my own is my default.” Allyson Todd considers the end of a good measure of such independence through her impending marriage.
Flashback: Rule #4: Watch for Temptation (8 Rules for Growing in Godliness)
One of the means God uses to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ is temptation. Though we must never seek or desire it, still we have the confidence that God redeems the crucible of temptation to refine his people, to remove their sin, and to instill his righteousness within them.

A religion that is of no use to you while you live, will be of no use to you when you die. —De Witt Talmage