We live in a world of enemies, a world of people and forces that wish to do us harm. The last enemy we must all face is death. The old preacher James Smith once pondered this enemy and gave his church both warning and encouragement. In this closing excerpt of a sermon he calls upon Christians to bravely cling to the cross as they face death.

The sick bed, the dying pillow, the painful disease, the dying pangs are before you. Then, Satan will make his last onslaught. Then, the heart and flesh will fail. The Jordan will roll before you, perhaps overflowing its banks, and perhaps clothed with storms! Then you must burst all earthly bonds, and withdraw the affections from all earthly loves. This, this is the time to cling to the cross!
If Satan harasses you—hold up the cross!
If death terrifies you—hold up the cross!
If conscience accuses you—silence it with the cross!
When launching away, press the cross more firmly to your heart than ever, and plunge into death’s dark river, relying solely on the cross!
Cross of Jesus! You are now the ground of my hope, the object of my faith, the theme of my salvation, the subject of my song, the antidote of my miseries, and the joy of my heart. O may Your cross become growingly precious to me, and through life and all its changes, may I cling to Your cross!
But, when death—often dreaded death, shall come, though I want no crucifix, may the cross of Jesus stand out in bold relief before my mind’s eye! On that may I gaze when my eyes are glazed by death! On that may I rest when I feel all around giving way! And resting on this alone—clinging fast with a death-grasp to it—may I gasp my last, exclaiming,
“O the sweet wonders of that cross,Where God my Savior loved and died!”

Black Friday is behind us and that brings us to Cyber Monday, another opportunity to track down some good deals. I spent a good bit of time hunting around for bargains and am sharing them here. You may notice that some of them are the same as the Black Friday specials while others are entirely different.

Amazon
Amazon has discounts on thousands of items. Of interest to me is their Kindle e-readers (and other devices) which are on sale today.
(If you are viewing this through the email newsletter, you won’t be able to see the Kindle deals. Click here to see them on my site.)

Kindle Oasis (my preferred device), Kindle Paperwhite, or Kindle (basic)
C.S. Lewis Signature Classics at 63% off
A large selection of board games are 50% off or more (including family favorites like Ticket to Ride, Catan, Pandemic, and literally hundreds more)
A lot of building toys like Knex, Lego, etc, as well as learning and tech toys
Home brands like KitchenAid, Ninja, Nespresso, Bissell, Vitamix, De’Longhi, Keurig, Yeti, and Amazon
Significant savings on 2023’s most popular general market books in their print versions (which includes Jinger Duggar Vuolo’s Becoming Free Indeed)
There is also a long list of “religion and spirituality” books discounted in their print versions. Among them you’ll find some good picks such as;

And then, of course, much, much more.
Westminster Books
Westminster Books has 200 of their best and bestselling books on sale with discounts in the range of 50% – 70% off. They have also launched a new volume by Richard Gaffin at a significant discount. Here are some representative deals:

They also have all ESVs at 50% off:

You might also like to look at their Christmas Gift Guide for gift ideas.
Logos
Logos has a host of products discounted for Cyber Monday—an entirely different list than on Friday. Here’s what they are offering today:

My top recommendations here would be the Challies Recommends bundle since it curates some of the best commentaries, the ESV Expository Commentary series, along with the Mentor commentary series. If you are collecting the NSBT series, you won’t find them much cheaper than they are today.
10ofThose
10ofThose, which is both a bookstore and a publisher, has a wide selection of books discounted up to 77%. They include:

10ofThose also provides the storefront for The Gospel Coalition and is offering many TGC products with similar discounts.
Accordance
Accordance is keeping it simple by offering a blanket 25% off anything with the coupon code 25-ALL.
Banner of Truth
Banner of Truth is having their annual Christmas sale with deals of up to 50% off. This PDF has the details. It looks like some of their sets of books have the best discounts.
Christian Book Distributors
Christian Book Distributors has lots of deals on books and Bibles, as well as homeschool material. Shipping is free with code CYBER23.

Crossway
Crossway+ members can browse the Christmas Gift Guide and order anything at 50% off. Crossway+ membership is free.
The Good Book Company
The Good Book Company is offering 30% off everything on their site plus free shipping. Bundles and sets are discounted up to 40%.
Matthias Media
Matthias Media has a good selection of their books on sale. Many are as low as $3 or $5.
Missional Wear
Missional Wear has select products at up to 50% off, plus you can save 15% site-wide using discount code CHALLIES15.
P&R Publishing
P&R is offering 35% off all titles with coupon code NOV23. Select titles are discounted 40% off.
Reformation Heritage Books
Reformation Heritage Books has a wide variety of their books and series on sale.
Visual Theology
Visual Theology is offering 50% off memberships with code BLACK2023. Digital Bible Cards and the 2023 Gospel Advent Calendar are also half off with BLACK2023. Then be sure to take a look at their new Advent Coloring Book.
Wretched
Wretched, aka Todd Friel, has up to 50% off on books, booklets, DVDs, merch, and so on.

The Lord be with you and bless you today.

Light and Life for the Overspent
Brittany Allen: “If there’s ever a time when we might feel overspent, it’s the holidays. The pressure to buy a million gifts, spend time with family, and be involved in various church events can become overwhelming. We sing songs claiming, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” but we often feel like it’s the most stressful time of the year. While many are participating in Advent family devotions, some are just trying to survive with their sanity intact.”
Translation is Meaning-Based
Dave tells how some of his convictions about Bible translation have had to change as he’s actually begun translating the Bible into a new language.
How can the doctrines of grace enrich our relationship with God? (Video)
Michael Reeves answers this question well.
When Your Spouse is Not a Believer: A Vertical Perspective
“As we sat down for dinner, my husband laid his hand on the countertop, palm up. Knowing our prayer routine, I placed my hand in his and waited for him to pray. Before he uttered a word, tears threatened to come forth, as a thought flashed through my mind: This would not have been possible eight years ago.”
The Skip Bayless Theory of Spiritual Transformation
This newsletter by Samuel James is well worth a read. That kind of online performance artist exists in the Christian world as well!
Risks and Benefits of Age-Specific Ministry
Jason Seville outlines some of the risks and benefits of age-specific ministry.
Flashback: When All Seems To Be Gain, Plan For Loss
When you’re at your best, plan for your worst. When you are standing strong by grace, plan for when you will be tempted by sin. But I add this new application: when all seems to be gain, plan for when all may seem to be loss.

The real scandal of this universe is not that there is a hell, deserved by all, but that there is a heaven, offered to all. —Dane Ortlund