May the Lord bless and keep you today.

This week Westminster Books is offering a discount on a book that will interest pastors, scholars, and serious students of the Bible.
Talitha Cumi
This is a sweet bit of writing. “With the quiet of the room and the mourning of the parents… With Peter and James and John looking on… With a twelve year old girl lying dead in her bed… With all the wailing outside and the mockery of Jesus… 
With the words of her death spreading around the small town… Jesus, the precious savior, takes this little girl by the hand and whispers in Aramaic: Talitha cumi.”
The Deconversion Stories That Go Unnoticed
Here is something to consider the next time you hear of a deconversion story. “I won’t speculate on the reasons for such celebrity deconversions as I am poorly qualified to speak on any of it. What is striking to me though is that for every high-profile professed Christian that turns his back on the faith, there are 100s overseas that make the same stated professions, walk away from the faith….and it goes largely unnoticed.”
Sometimes People Just Ain’t That Grateful
Stephen Kneale points out that some people just aren’t all that grateful and says, “We can’t live and die on whether people are grateful for what we do.”
The Insidious, Fake Intimacy of Algorithms
Yikes! “Many of us have deeper relationships with the algorithms than with the people in our churches. This is not surprising. When we spend more time tapping on our screens than we do talking with our friends, our algorithms will know us better than our loved ones do.”
Are Pro-Lifers Just “Pro-Forced Birth?”
“Abortion advocates are brilliant at playing word games. Using clever rhetorical moves, they are able to make protecting preborn children look bad and killing preborn children look good.” Tim Barnett provides an example.
How Do We Know We Can Trust the Bible? (Video)
I’m very glad that RTS’s “Wisdom Wednesday” videos are back. In this new one, Dr. Zachary Cole talks about why we can trust the Bible.
Does This Really Matter?
Gretchen Saffles: “How we spend our days isn’t just how we spend our lives. It’s how we become who we are and who we will be. It’s not just about what we’re doing, but the heart behind how and why we’re doing it. ”
Flashback: A Failure of Worship
The addict is not merely following deeply-ingrained habits and physical desires, but seeking the escstasy of worship. The problem is not the desire to worship—we are created to be worshippers—but the idolatrous object of that worship.

Waste no time in defending your Bible; preach it and let it defend itself! —Theodore Cuyler

This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by RHB Publications. 

Everyone who enters the prize draw will get a free eBook of A Habitual Sight of Him: The Christ-Centered Piety of Thomas Goodwin from the RHB Profiles in Reformed Spirituality series.
In addition, three of you who enter will receive a copy of the new hardback set of The Works of Thomas Goodwin – a $480 value! – PLUS the other new titles listed alongside it below.
[Because of problems with the printing supply chain, prize-winning books are not guaranteed to arrive by Christmas]
New Titles from RHB
The Works of Thomas Goodwin
A 12-volume set with an introduction and reading plan by Dr. Joel Beeke
Thomas Goodwin’s works display a pastoral and scholarly zeal that represents the best in Puritanism – combining the vigor of Perkins and Sibbes with the mature thought of Owen.
ISBN 9781601788481 12 volumes 6,600 pages Hardcover $480.00

Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Simonetta Carr
Spurgeon, one of Christianity’s greatest preachers, spoke to thousands, trained pastors, started orphanages, and upheld basic Bible teachings. Simonetta uses colorful illustrations and interesting facts to tell a compelling story.
ISBN 9781601788832 64 pages hardcover $18.00

Nugget and the Refiner
Kerry Tittle, Illustrated by Jim McMurry
An illustrated story for children aged 7-12. Nugget is a hunk of ore wrenched from the ground and refined into a beautiful chalice. He learns that painful things can work for our good.
ISBN 978-1-60178-902-0 40 pages Hardcover $18.00

The Glory of the Redeemer in His Person and Work
Octavius Winslow
Winslow’s warm engagement of biblical truth delivers a devotional Christology that excites the soul—tracing Jesus’s glory from eternity past, through the Old and New Testaments, to His return.
ISBN 978-1-60178-884-9 432 pages p/b $20.00 (Soli Deo Gloria)

The Spiritual Marriage Between Christ and His Church and Every One of the Faithful
Girolamo Zanchi (translated by Patrick O’Brien)
This new translation of the classic draws readers into the rich doctrine of union with Christ, showing how our earthly marriages fulfill their truest purpose when we give attention to the spiritual marriage between Christ and His church.
ISBN 978-1-60178-904-4 152 pages Hardcover $25.00 (Soli Deo Gloria)

God to Us: Covenant Theology in Scripture
Stephen G. Myers
God’s unchanging purpose is securing a people for Himself. God to Us explains the work of this eternal covenant in detail—deepening our knowledge of God and enriching our relationship.
ISBN 978-1-60178-873-3 376 pages Hardcover $30.00

The Poor Man’s Morning and Evening Portions
Robert Hawker
Written specifically for every Christian as a daily meditation for your soul, Hawker’s 730 devotions will let the Word of God come close to your conscience to your eternal gain.
ISBN 978-1-892777-05-8 944 pages Hardcover $40.00
Enter Here
Again, there are three sets to win. And all you need to do to enter the draw is to drop your name and email address in the form below.
Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. When you enter, you opt-in to receive marketing emails from RHB. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes on Thursday 18th November 2021 at midnight.

The God of love and peace be with you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: My Heart Longs for Justice (Kind of))
The reckoning of the Lord
Here is Al Mohler’s response to the report issues by Guidepost Solutions about abuse in the SBC. “I am writing this essay in one of the most difficult moments ever experienced by my beloved denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. Considering the historical roots of the SBC, that is quite a statement, but it is true. It is a moment long in coming and it is not over.”
Hearing the Warning of the SBC
Samuel James makes some crucial observations about the report as well. “The consistent, pervasive, unifying, and unavoidable theme of the report is the desire by several SBC leaders to preserve the indemnity and reputation of the denomination above all else.”
More Powerful Than the Hate That Divides
This article was helpful in helping me better understand the recent shooting in Laguna Woods and its background—the antipathy between some Taiwanese people and people from mainland China.
How this Christian is responding to the Federal Election
Australia has just elected a new government and here is one Christian reflecting on what it means and how he will respond. What he says about the Anglican Prayer Book is especially thought-provoking.
3 Ways to Stay Focused While Praying
Doug Eaton offers some help from D.A. Carson.
Introducing Spring 2022 Eikon
CBMW has released a new issue of their journal Eikon. It offers lots of interesting reading!
Flashback: What Jesus Does Not Pray
We can have no confidence we will be preserved from falling into times of persecution, but every confidence we will be kept from falling into the evil hands of the one who, for now, is the prince of this world.

We trust as we love, and we trust where we love; if you love Christ much surely you will trust Him much. —Thomas Brooks