May you enjoy the Lord’s richest blessings as you serve and worship him this weekend.

Today’s Kindle deals include some newer and older titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: He Is Not Ashamed)
Is Jordan Peterson almost there?
Steven Wedgeworth interacts with some recent comments by Jordan Peterson. “Is Peterson a Christian? And is he right about young men and the church? Almost.”
Which Sins Are Feeding Your Sin of Lust?
This is a long but valuable piece by the late David Powlison.
Thinking Sensibly About Ourselves
“When walking the narrow road of the Christian life, many of us fall into one of two traps when it comes to our gifts: viewing ourselves too highly or too lowly. Some of us have permanently taken up residence in one of these ditches and refuse to move. There is water flooding in, garbage pooling around us, and frogs laying eggs in our hair, but we refuse to move from our ditch.”
The ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ Deserves No Respect
Andrew Walker and Carl Trueman have a piece at National Review that is quite interesting. “The cravenness of Republicans who are looking to ‘move on’ from supposedly divisive ‘social issues’ will deserve their comeuppance should they vote for this bill.”
The 2022 Audubon Photography Awards
There are some beautiful images to see among the winners and honorable mentions of the 2022 Audubon Photography Awards.
A Doctor Shares the Secret to Dying Well
“For almost 20 years, I’ve been working as a hospital doctor. While being a doctor isn’t nearly as glamorous as what you see on TV, it can still be intense. I care for people in the best and worst moments of their lives. Of all the different situations I’ve faced, the most memorable professional encounters have been caring for terminally ill patients.”
Flashback: Parents: To Join Social Media Is To Witness Death
One moment I’m looking at pictures of nieces and nephews celebrating a birthday, and the next I’m looking at someone being gunned down in the streets. Joyful celebrations join brutal murders in this endless stream of information.

We must hide our unholiness in the wounds of Christ as Moses hid himself in the cleft of the rock while the glory of God passed by. We must take refuge from God in God. —A.W. Tozer

My thanks goes to Desiring God for sponsoring the blog this week so they could ensure you know about John Piper’s newest book.

Today’s Kindle deals include newer and older books.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Overloaded Christian Life)
All Creation Groans
Barbaranne Kelly considers one way that creation groans. “These sweet dogs were not made in God’s image, nor do they possess souls that will live forever. They don’t stand before their Creator responsible for sin; Jesus didn’t die to redeem them. But, as the apostle Paul makes clear, they still suffer under the curse.”
Villainous Christianity in ‘The Whale,’ ‘The Wonder,’ and ‘Women Talking’
“Believers should pay attention to the ‘alternative gospels’ on offer in contemporary pop culture. If Christianity is seen more as an oppressor than a liberator, after all, something else must play the part of liberator. In each of the films discussed above, that ‘something else’ is the empowered self, through which salvation and ‘rebirth’ are achieved without appeal to the supernatural.”
When Good Doctrine Enables Abuse
Yes, people can and will twist even the best doctrine to evil uses.
God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers
“God does not grant them a hearing. That is, he turns a deaf ear to their prayer. Unbelievers have zero right of access to God. They have zero ability to petition him for anything. They have no grounds to expect God to work for them or answer their prayer.”
Most People Die on The Climb Down
John Onwuchekwa: “When it comes to both setting goals and climbing mountains, most of us misunderstand the assignment. We tend to define success by the described activity not the desired outcome. Don’t believe me? Just think about it. If someone says their goal is to climb Mount Everest, what would be the ultimate win? Making it to the top! Right? Wrong.”
The Scandal of the American Evangelical Intellectual
Justin Taylor shares a helpful insight from D.A. Carson. “I worry less about the anti-intellectualism of the less educated sections of evangelicalism than I do about the biblical and theological illiteracy, or astonishing intellectual compromise, among its leading intellectuals.”
Flashback: Help! I’ve Fallen Behind On My Bible Readings!
If you are struggling to maintain your Bible reading commitment…here are a few suggestions from some fellow fallen travelers along the way.

Self-deception is not the worst thing you can do, but it’s the means by which we do the very worst things. The sin that is most distorting your life right now is often the one you can’t see. —Tim Keller

For as long as there has been truth, there has been division over the truth—over what is consistent with God’s revelation and what is aberrant, over what pleases him and what grieves his heart. Richard Baxter was no stranger to this reality and, aware of his own sinfulness, penned a prayer meant to plead God’s help in times of controversy.

Lord God, when controversies occasion division among your people, may I look first to the interest of the common good and to the exercise of charity.
May I not become a passionate contender for any party or censure the peaceable.
May I not overreach my understanding or try to win esteem for my orthodoxy or zeal.
May I suspect my own unripe evaluation and silence my opinions until I am clear and certain.
May I join the moderates and the peacemakers rather than the contenders and dividers.
For division leads to the ruin of the church, the hindrance of the gospel and injury to the interests of true religion.
Keep me, I pray, from being misguided; from being carried away by passion or discontent; from worldly interests; from thinking too highly of my own opinion.
May my zeal be more for faith, charity and unity than for my opinions.

(Drawn from Into His Presence)