My gratitude goes to Boyce College for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you (and the young people in your life) about the upcoming D3 Youth Conference. At the conference, “your student will learn what it means to be a disciple, and in turn, understand their role in making disciples of others.”
As you’ve come to excpect, the Kindle deals continue today.
(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for January 2024)

This is an important subject. “Domestic abuse (DA) is likely the most complex and difficult problem most counselors will ever face. Perhaps one reason for this is that these issues can be extremely counterintuitive. Abusive people are often charming, confident, and convincing, while their victims can present as unstable, angry, and confused.”

“Why do our best efforts falter so quickly? Why do so many of us just give up? Why can’t we consistently keep the virtuous promises we make to ourselves? Because there’s a flaw that keeps us from pressing on to do what we know is good for us. That’s why.” Jonathan Noyes explains.

Sandra Peoples is hopeful for the future of disability ministry and so am I!

Ed Welch offers help to those who have a loved one struggling with narcissism.

I suppose this is a reminder that we never actually miss a crucial opportunity when we understand the providence of God.

Writing for TGC Africa, Graham Heslop explains the importance of that often-overlooked element of a worship service, the call to worship. “In redirecting our gaze to God and his grace, the call to worship is an exhortation against being overly attentive to ourselves. It lowers the priority of my feelings.”

He saves people through the good news of the gospel and he tells you and me to speak out that news. He calls us to be fishers of men, to catch people alive.

There is nothing more foolish than an act of wickedness; there is no wisdom equal to that of obeying God.
—Albert Barnes

May the Lord bless and keep you today.

Carry a Candle
“Our very finite and fragile ability to love individuals around us is a gift. And it is also a candle. A profound flicker of light in this hard place. I understood that I needed to shelter it.” This writer reflects on her inability to bear all the sorrow of this world.
Love Like My Mom
This is such a sweet reflection on a brother’s grief and a mother’s love.
Censorship Isn’t Christians’ Biggest Social Media Problem
This article is really important. “A lot of Christians are concerned about social media censorship. Too few are concerned about social media discipleship. This isn’t surprising. We are more interested in the ways we can form the world than we are with the ways the world is forming us. This isn’t to say social media/internet censorship isn’t a problem. It certainly is. But I worry we as Christians are more interested in protecting our expression than we are our hearts.”
4 Reasons Pastors Should Consider Quitting Social Media
And in a somewhat similar vein: “Pastors should be especially aware of how the digital age is changing our parishioners and ourselves. There are benefits to having at our fingertips encyclopedic information, news updates, and virtual access to others. There are dangers, too. I believe the downsides of social media and overabundant digital information outweigh the benefits.”
Biology’s Divorce from Teleology
“The medical community has historically presupposed all human organs were designed to perform a function. The study of design is called teleology. The heart is designed to pump blood, the eye is made to see, and muscles are meant to move joints. Every part of the body is intended to do something in particular.” I, for one, am skeptical that biology can long survive the separation from teleology.
Ocean Depth Comparison (Video)
Videos like this help me better appreciate the wonders of God’s creation.
Handling Disagreement
I don’t know where this little series is going to go, but I expect it will be interesting. “What does a Dutch Prime Minister born nearly two centuries ago have to say about contemporary debates over the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines? As it turns out, quite a bit.”
Flashback: 6 Reasons For You To Consider Writing
You can use your words to influence others toward godliness, whether that is the people in your home, the people in your church, or people around the world.

When things are going well with us we may content ourselves with talking about the Lord; but when the sky darkens we hasten to deal with Him and talk to Him directly. —F.B. Meyer

My gratitude goes to Open the Bible for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their excellent courses—a “video-based training platform designed to equip you with a solid biblical foundation and practical, actionable guidance for serving the Lord over the long haul.”
Today’s Kindle deals include a few notable titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Big Problem You Didn’t Know You Had)

Chopo Mwanza considers the life and ministry of John the Baptist and asks whether we display his kind of humility.

“Though it all ended well, it was frightening to witness. As is helpful and necessary after an unsettling event, I continued to process what I had seen in the days that followed. This young lifeguard—she couldn’t have been older than twenty—headed into danger in order to rescue someone out of it. This moved me. On that day, she courageously embodied her title: she guarded life—an actual life!”

“False teachers will always be with us. Peter points out how they have hidden among God’s people since Old Testament days. In fact, it all began in the garden of Eden with the first false teacher, the serpent—Satan himself—who twisted God’s words, leading to death.” Jonathan Gibson identifies four characteristic traits to watch out for.

And on a somewhat similar note, Jacob Crouch warns about the devil’s normal schemes. “If the only devil we are looking out for is the red horned master of Hell, then we will be caught off guard when his schemes seem normal. Let’s be honest: No one is falling for the devil’s outrageous schemes. If the devil stood up in your church and shouted, ‘Let’s all follow a false god!’ very few (any?) would respond. But the devil is smarter than that. He doesn’t look to shock and awe, he boils the frog. You know what I mean? He puts you in pretty comfortable water and then slowly turns up the heat.”

“It’s not really ‘trust’ when life is going easy, is it? When life is a walk in the park, we aren’t really trusting God. Yes, we might be trusting him with regard to salvation, but for all other things we tend to run on autopilot, don’t we? (Not that that’s right!) But even so, to say, ‘It’s so much easier to trust when life is going well’ is like saying, ‘It’s so much easier to climb when you are standing on the ground’!”

That’s actually quite an interesting question to consider: are the Psalms maximally or minimally Messianic? I’d probably land a bit closer to Spurgeon than some others, but am very willing to be persuaded otherwise!

The most difficult time to lead is when you have forfeited the respect of those who are meant to follow you, when your confidence, and theirs, is shattered. But this is also the most important time to lead.

Our spiritual disciplines don’t just benefit us. We don’t follow Jesus in isolation. Our growth and our perseverance also encourage growth and perseverance in our brothers and sisters in Christ.
—Glenna Marshall