My gratitude once again goes to Church Social for sponsoring the blog this week. They want you to know how their software can help simplify your church’s finances. Besides that, their software gives congregations a safe place to communicate, share information, and manage membership online.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few titles that are worth a quick look.
(Yesterday on the blog: From Washington & Jefferson to Trump & Biden)

I would imagine almost every adulterer once thought they were immune to adultery. Yet having witnessed so many people fall into it, we’d be silly to think we are necessarily immune. This article from CCEF shows how the slide into adultery often begins in subtle and deceptive ways.

Justin Taylor shares some powerful and encouraging writing by David Powlison. It truly is one of the most hopeful reminders you’ll ever read about sanctification. It’s one to bookmark!

“For those who have been affiliated with the teachings and practices within this movement [NAR], we know that dreams and visions are a major focus in it. Leaders teach and write books on the subject, providing dream interpretation books and claiming revelatory insight as to how to know what God is saying through dreams.” What do we do with all those claims of dreams and visions?

Paul Tautges: “One of the blessings of being a pastor is the opportunity to be part of a team of elders who visit church members in their homes for the purpose of ministering the Word and praying with them in times of suffering. Sadly, many church elders forgo this blessing and many believers do not request these kind of visits from their shepherds.”

Allyson Reid writes about some of the challenges of being a neurodivergent Christian. “I’d just returned from serving at a women’s event for my local church, a place where I often struggle with social interactions and sensory overstimulation. Therapists have suggested that I might be autistic due to a lifetime of these struggles. Although I’ve never sought a diagnosis, I do know that my brain works differently than others.”

Pastors will be blessed by reading this one by Geoff Chang.

To be gentle is to be tender, humble, and fair, to know what posture and response is fitting for any occasion. It indicates a graciousness, a desire to extend mercy to others, and a desire to yield to both the will of God and the preferences of other people.

Be content with no degree of sanctification. Be always crying out, ‘Lord, let me know more of myself and of thee.’
—George Whitefield

May the Lord be with you and bless you on this fine day.

There is a good little list of Kindle deals today. I have also included a list of some popular general market titles that have been discounted for the day.
(Yesterday on the blog: How Long Has It Been Like This?)
On Culture War, Doug Wilson, and the Moscow Mood
This is a really solid, helpful article from Kevin DeYoung in which he expresses his concerns with Doug Wilson and the movement he has built. “My concerns are not so much with one or two conclusions that Christians may reach if Wilson becomes their intellectual mentor. My bigger concern is with the long-term spiritual effects of admiring and imitating the Moscow mood. For the mood that attracts people to Moscow is too often incompatible with Christian virtue, inconsiderate of other Christians, and ultimately inconsistent with the stated aims of Wilson’s Christendom project.”
Instagram Addicted Your Teenager Because She’s Worth $270 to Them
Some newly redacted documents related to Meta show that the company studies teen biology in order to promote addiction and that it gladly chooses profits over mental health. Chris Martin explains. (See also the WSJ covering how Instagram’s algorithm promotes sexualized content to adults who follow children.)
Christianity vs Everybody
How could a good God allow evil? Is the Bible homophobic? Is Christ really the only way? Whether you’re new to the faith or have been raised in Christianity your whole life, these questions have most likely crossed your mind, perhaps even creating serious doubts for yourself or someone you know. If you want to deepen your own faith or help those who are struggling, we invite you to join us for our weekend seminar, “Christianity vs. Everybody,” hosted by DBTS. (Sponsored Link)
I struggle with dark intrusive thoughts that scare me. What do I do? (Video)
Mike Emlet provides some counsel for people who battle with intrusive thoughts.
Jesus was not born in a stable—and it really matters!
I have read a number of explanations as to why the common understanding that Jesus was born in a barn is not exactly accurate. This article lays out the argument with clarity.
Turning Your Complaints into Gratitude – A Great Challenge
Kevin lays down a great challenge—to deliberately labor to turn your complaints into gratitude. You will know, of course, that only one of those comes naturally!
The Complementarian compass
“When we think about questions relating to the relationship between husbands and wives in the home and the role of men and women in the church, we tend to think of the debate being primarily between complementarians and egalitarians with a binary choice. I want to suggest that there are good reasons for not seeing the conversation in those terms.” This one is worth reading and considering.
Flashback: The Sad, Sad Story You Need To Tell God
You have lost the light of God’s face, not because He has arbitrarily withdrawn it, but because your iniquities have come between you and your God; and your sins, like a cloud before the sun, have hid His face from you.

Pastor, do not let your vision for the church you want get in the way of God’s vision for the church you actually have! —Jared C. Wilson

This week the blog is sponsored by Thomas Nelson Bibles. This post is adapted from the introduction of the Timeless Truths Bible by Matthew Z. Capps, Sr. Pastor of Fairview Baptist Church (Apex, NC), who served as its general editor.
What is the most important thing you need to know about the Bible? In my opinion, it is crucial to understand that Scripture is God’s perfect treasure, a revelation of himself to humankind. Christianity is dependent upon the belief that God has graciously, intentionally, and lovingly chosen to reveal himself and his will to humanity. If God has revealed himself to us, our desire should be that as we study God’s Word, we do so in a way that seeks to understand every passage accurately in light of his divine self-disclosure.
Christianity is dependent upon the belief that God has graciously, intentionally, and lovingly chosen to reveal himself and his will to humanity.Matthew Z. CappsShare
That doesn’t mean it is always easy, though. There are times when the historical distance between the modern reader and ancient text makes it difficult to understand certain parts of scripture. But the good news is that when you read the Bible you are not alone. Because the Bible is one of the most printed books in human history, it also has one of the deepest wells of insightful commentary that we as modern readers can draw from.
Enrich your journey with wisdom from the past
In a modern world that too often sprints along in what C. S. Lewis called in Surprised by Joy “chronological snobbery,” that is, believing that ancient resources are obstacles to our progress, retrieving the past can help clarify our historical shortsightedness and cultural biases. In short, we cannot ignore the contributions of the past or over-exaggerate the wisdom of the present. We must approach the Bible with the humble belief that every generation in the church has unique contributions to offer. The wisest of Christians in history have always drawn from the past to understand how to live in the present.
When you study the Bible, you are welcomed into an ancient conversation, an interpretive community that stretches across time and knows no geographical boundaries. It is a community that includes people from the very earliest disciples of Jesus living in Jerusalem, the second-century converts in Roman-ruled Africa and Europe, medieval monastics, the Reformers, English Puritans, American revivalists, and many more. This rich history affords us the opportunity to cultivate theological instincts and values from trusted guides.
A Bible designed with history in mind
The Timeless Truths Bible is designed with this history in mind. It will remind you that, as you read the Word of God, you’re a part of a sacred communion made up of believers past and present. Not only is this particular Bible beautifully designed, it has also been carefully crafted with selected features to help you in your journey through the text.

Regardless of your spiritual journey, if you are new to the Bible or a seasoned saint, hearing from voices of the past will deeply enrich your understanding of God’s Word. The church in every generation has gathered around the Bible to read, study, ponder, debate, and meditate on the scriptures. Through personal study and communal discussion on the Bible, God has shaped his people, setting them apart to love him and each other, to worship, and to work toward advancing his good news to the whole world.
Dig deeper with trusted guides
My prayer is that the Timeless Truths Bible will encourage and strengthen you, and that your own study of this incomparable book will be enriched by the reflections and insights of faithful saints from across the centuries who, just like you, came to scripture to learn from the Author of life. As you read, do so with an open mind and heart. There is a sense in which we do not simply read the Bible, the Bible also reads us. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture! The Book widens and deepens with our years! It is true, it cannot really grow, for it is perfect, but it does so to our apprehension. The deeper you dig into Scripture, the more you find that it is a great abyss of truth.”