May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: What a Wonder Is a Human Being!)
Did Jesus Tell Us to Give to Every Panhandler?
I think John Piper does a good job of answering this. “At the last judgment — I’ve thought about this many times — I think Jesus will be much more prone to commend lavish generosity to the undeserving than he will be to commend how shrewd we were in keeping for ourselves our few dollars rather than giving them away. I just can’t imagine Jesus saying, ‘Wow, you were especially good at being shrewd at not being taken advantage of.’ I don’t hear anything like that in Jesus’s teachings.”
When Technology Harms Discipleship
“Years ago before social media, televangelists and online ministries people would walk to a pastor’s home for advice. If they didn’t think it was such a serious matter they’d share with a friend or a few in the fellowship. But life has changed. We now live on one end of the city and go to church on the other side. Our favourite men of God live in a different continent from us. We send our prayers across the seas with a small gift to make sure they are answered. And anonymity means we can share very personal issues to strangers and get advice from people removed from our local context.”
Win Free Admission for Two: 2023 Ligonier National Conference
Ligonier Ministries is offering free admission to ten pairs of winners at their 2023 National Conference, Stand Firm. Taking place in Orlando, FL, on March 23–25, 2023, this conference will encourage Christians to live courageously and without compromise amid changing times, finding stability in the eternal truth of God’s Word. Enter the giveaway today for the possibility of being randomly selected to win free entry for two people.
Even if you aren’t selected to win admission to Ligonier’s 2023 National Conference, you can still save on your registration with the early-bird discount for a limited time. 
Please note that free admission to the conference does not include travel or lodging expenses. (Sponsored Link)
Why Washed in the Blood of Christ is Better Than in my Washing Machine
This article helpfully compares one kind of washing with another.
3 Steps to Examining Your Faith
Here are some helps to obeying in the Bible’s admonitions that we examine our faith.
Who Knew When We Said “I do?”
How many of us really know what we’re doing when we say “I do?”
Was Jesus in the Grave for Three Days?
Lots of people have wondered why there appears to be a contradiction here.
Flashback: My Great Daily Challenge As a Christian
Why do I fail to live the way I want to live, the way God tells me to live, the way God enables and equips me to live? What is the great daily challenge?

I had rather die a Covenant-keeper, than live a Covenant-breaker. —Christopher Love

A friend and I recently realized that we have not been spending as much time together as we would like. We agreed it is high time to do something about it. But what to do?

We put our heads together and determined that we will deliberately build time for one another into our schedules. But we also determined that we need to maximize those times together. To ensure this we will go through an evaluation process to consider whether they were as meaningful as they could possibly have been. Did we listen attentively to one another? Did we avoid speaking about the minutia of life and discuss only things that are of the highest consequence? Did each of us spend the appropriate portion of the time speaking and the appropriate portion listening? Days later, can we remember all that the other person said? Did we wring every possible bit of value out of each moment?
I’m just making this up, of course. To do any of that would make a friendship burdensome instead of free. Such intense evaluation and introspection would rob the friendship of warmth and life and instead leave it bound by rules and regret. In fact, it would be a great way to utterly ruin a perfectly good friendship.
Yet there are so many Christians who relate to the Lord in just this way. The Christian faith offers the ability to have a genuine relationship with God himself, a relationship in which we speak and God listens and in which God speaks and we listen. We speak to God through praise and prayer and God speaks to us through Scripture and Spirit. It’s a wondrous and beautiful privilege we enjoy.
At least, it’s a wondrous and beautiful privilege we are meant to enjoy. But so often we fail to enjoy it because we bind it up in rules. Instead of just appreciating a relationship, we constantly assess it. Instead of appreciating the moments we spent together, we lament that we did not make more of them. Soon enough we find that we associate the relationship more with sorrow than pleasure, more with guilt than enjoyment. We undermine and even ruin a perfectly good friendship.
But freedom comes when we simply free ourselves to enjoy the relationship. Freedom comes when we speak freely, when we speak openly, when we speak about any and everything rather than only what is of the greatest consequence. Freedom comes when we stop being morbidly introspective about the relationship and simply enjoy it as a good and wonderful gift of grace.

It is surprisingly difficult to find a list of Christian books that have been released in any given month—especially if you want that list to be filtered by books released through particular publishers. That’s one of the reasons why I close each month by coming up with my list of New and Notable books. I comb through what I’ve received in the past month (and scour all the publishers’ websites) to come up with a list of titles that are interesting to me—and may just be interesting to you. Here are my picks for April. In each case I’ve included the publisher’s description.

The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead by Chris Martin. “We can hardly remember a time when we didn’t feel the influence of that back pocket device. The average social media user spends about two-and-a-half hours a day using social media. That’s more than enough time to shape our values and desires. Pastors, teachers, and parents feel their influence slipping away. We’re seeing increased loneliness, disunity, and self-absorption. But where do we go from here? In The Wolf in Their Pockets, Internet expert Chris Martin examines the many ways we are being changed by social media. With a biblically informed voice, Martin both exposes the ways the Internet is distorting our life in Christ and shows us how to faithfully respond. Martin teaches us how to care for people who are obsessed with followers, views, and likes—and how to love those whose online influences have filled them with cynicism and contempt. Martin looks at how the social Internet is changing how we understand sex and beauty—what to do about the epidemic levels of anxiety—and how to redirect our hearts to worship Jesus Christ. Shepherding and leading people has never been easy, but the social Internet has brought new challenges. We need the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and a powerful prayer life. Martin provides the biblical wisdom, direction, and hope necessary to combat The Wolf in Their Pockets.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
The Classic Warfield Collection (2-Volume Set) by Benjamin B Warfield, edited by John J Hughes. “In The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, Warfield says that the Bible is ‘an oracular book . . . the Word of God in such a sense that whatever it says God says’ that all its affirmations are ‘to be esteemed as the utterance of God, of infallible truth and authority.’ Warfield’s incisive scholarship shines in this new and enhanced edition, which has been edited, formatted, and retypeset for modern readers. Its carefully prepared aids include fulsome abstracts at the beginning of each chapter, intelligent headings, smart paragraph breaks, explanatory notes, definitions of obscure terms, discussion questions, recommended reading, complete footnotes and bibliographies, and more. In The Person and Work of Christ, Warfield demonstrates that ‘it is no more possible to have a Christianity without an atoning Christ than it is to have a Christianity without a divine Christ.’ Warfield’s incisive scholarship shines in this new and enhanced edition, which has been edited, formatted, and re-typeset for modern readers. Its carefully prepared aids include fulsome abstracts at the beginning of each chapter, intelligent headings, smart paragraph breaks, explanatory notes, definitions of obscure terms, discussion questions, recommended reading, complete footnotes and bibliographies, and more.” (Buy it at Westminster Books)
Priscilla, Where Are You? A Call to Joyful Theology by Natalie Brand. “‘What we believe about God is the single most important thing about us.’ This is a call to all Christians-but especially to Christian women-to engage more deeply in the joys of theology. Priscilla was a woman of sound doctrine who wasn’t afraid to share what she knew with others. And this is the privilege of every believing woman: we can explore truth and revel in God’s mysteries; we can live as God intended, with real spiritual strength and heartfelt praise. And we too will want to share our discoveries with others. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
On Theology: Explorations and Controversies by John Frame. “John Frame is remarkable for his ability to pair profound thought with lucid prose. On Theology: Explorations and Controversies gathers concise reflections on wide-ranging matters of theology, philosophy, and ethics, divided into eight parts: Theological Method; The Thomist Controversy; Systematic Theology; Essays from Lexham Survey of Theology; Essays from The Gospel Coalition’s Concise Theology; Philosophy and Apologetics; Ethics and Politics; Personal Reflections. Whether considering age-old questions or current debates, Frame evokes deep thinking about Christian theology in a style that is accessible and engaging.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
Say the Right Thing: How Your Words Can Glorify God and Encourage Others by Carolyn Lacey. “Words are powerful. They sink deep into our minds and our spirits. They can build others up or put others down. Many of us want to “say the right thing” and make a difference to others with our words, but we don’t know how to. Others of us struggle to control our speech and want help to be more godly in this area of our lives. This positive, constructive book delves into the Bible to show us how to overcome specific temptations, such as gossip or angry words. But it also goes much further. It shows us how we can use our speech to bring beauty, hope, truth, and comfort into the lives of those around us—and to give glory to God. Full of gracious words and practical help, this book will help readers to find out how to let the gospel shape their speech and enjoy the blessings that flow from this. (Buy it at Amazon)
Sharing the Gospel with a Mormon by Tony Brown. “How do you share the gospel with those who believe it’s their mandate to evangelise to you? Mormons are eager to talk about their faith with anyone who will listen, so encounters with them are a great opportunity to discuss what the Bible really says. But if we’re not familiar with their beliefs, it can feel safer to avoid these conversations, and we can miss out on the chance to share the true gospel with them. Tony Brown spends his time conversing with and evangelising to those caught in New Religious Movements. In this thorough guide to sharing the gospel with a Mormon, he lays out the foundations of the Mormon faith and explains how their doctrines are not reconcilable with the Bible, despite their claims. He does so with a great love for Mormons, concluding that they are a lost people who need to hear the true gospel. If you’ve ever wondered how to share the gospel with a Mormon, then this book will give you the practical knowledge you need to start those conversations and point Mormons to the Jesus of the Bible.” (Buy it at Amazon)
When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man (Second Edition) by Edward Welch. “Five college students pitch a tent by their car one dark night, not realizing they’ve set up camp by a military runway. They awake from a deep sleep to the shaking of the earth and a roar like mountains falling―the sound of a military transport plane taking off right over their heads. Can you imagine the visceral terror of that moment? For author and biblical counselor Edward Welch, it was a glimpse of what the Israelites experienced in God’s presence at Mount Sinai. Our God is a consuming fire. His holiness and relentless love put our sin, our weakness, and our fears in perspective. If we can learn the fear of the Lord―a fear that in Christ is filled with gratitude, love, and devotion―we can break free of the fear of other people that so easily entangles us. We can experience joy in our Christian lives as we need other people less and love them more. This groundbreaking work has helped countless numbers of people to confront their fear of man and live in freedom. The new edition features clarifying additions, new material, and revisions throughout.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
Stronger Together: Seven Partnership Virtues and the Vices that Subvert Them by Dave Harvey. “Networked churches are the primary church planting force in evangelicalism today—but what makes them so effective, why do they remain so under-appreciated, and what are the common pitfalls that can ensnare them? In Stronger Together, veteran church planter and pastor Dave Harvey draws from his experiences and study of networks to walk Christian institutions, church leaders, and planters through tested strategies for starting and sustaining healthy and biblical church partnerships. By focusing on key virtues and shedding light on the pitfalls that oppose them, Harvey unpacks seven dichotomies that offer a practical roadmap to healthy patterns. When churches are vitally connected to other churches, they thrive, multiply, and last longer. Scripture exemplifies this, and research proves it. Stronger Together—part of the Exponential series on ministry growth and discipleship—will teach you exactly how to pursue biblical collaboration that will allow your church to flourish and your ministry to grow.” (Buy it at Amazon)
True to His Word: 100 Meditations on the Faithfulness of God by Jon Bloom. “The Bible teaches that God is always faithful, that He’s always TRUE to HIS WORD. Saints throughout history have affirmed it, and hymns and worship songs celebrate it. But what if it doesn’t look that way to you? You’re not alone. The Bible is full of examples of God’s children struggling to trust him in seasons of disappointment, discouragement, danger, disaster, depression, and deep grief—only to see God’s faithfulness to them manifest in surprising ways. These meditations are designed to help you grow in your ability to recognize God’s faithfulness in places you may not typically look, at times you don’t expect, and in providences— especially the most disturbing and devastating ones—that often don’t look like God’s faithfulness. Because the more you see it, the more wonderful God’s faithfulness becomes to you. And the more you’ll realize that ‘all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness’ (Psalm 25:10). (Buy it at Amazon)
Unconventional by Sharon Dickens. “Discipling women is vital in every church. But it’s all very well knowing the theory — how do you actually get on and do it in practice? Unconventional is an honest look at beginning and sustaining a vibrant women’s ministry that works. Author Sharon Dickens shares how she started a women’s ministry from scratch — with all the frustrations and joys along the way — enabling you to learn from her mistakes and benefit from her extensive experience.” (Buy it at Amazon)