On Monday, July 31 I am going to be in Seoul with nothing much to do (until my flight home in the evening). If anyone would like to meet up and maybe see a museum or some other sites, please let me know!

I’m grateful for this first review of my latest book Understanding and Trusting Our Great God.
Westminster Books is (re)introducing The Westminster Theological Journal and incentivizing your purchase.
Today’s Kindle deals include a number of books on parenting.
Man Cannot Live on Feeds Alone: The Christian Diet for a Digital Age
“Many of us see and hear more information in a day than we can possibly manage. Over time, this consistent overload dulls our senses — in particular, our spiritual senses.” Trevin Wax has a good article about an appropriate Christian “diet” in this digital age.
Through the Valley
Patsy laments the death of her father and tells how the Lord is sustaining her in this time. “I’m not fond of the aging process or the accompanying aches, pains, and infirmities, but one thing I do like about increasing years is that I have more and more examples of God’s goodness and faithfulness to file away in my spiritual memory bank.”
The harassment of Italian evangelical churches
“Perhaps you think the persecution of Christians in the Western world is a matter of the past. There’s no way Christians are still persecuted in the West today, right?” Not quite, as this article explains.
Location, Location, Location
“There is a well-known real estate maxim that lists the three most important characteristics of any property: ‘Location, location, and location.’ This famous real estate maxim holds true in the Bible, as well.”
Only John Witnessed the Ascension Twice
“As far as I can tell, there’s only one apostle that had the privilege of seeing the ascension twice, at two different times in his life, and from two different points of view.” That’s an interesting statement!
A Wrong Prophet Is Not a False Prophet, Right?
“A woman stands before a church congregation, sharing with them how she loves to get together with her friends and practice prophesying. She tells the people that they sometimes ‘get it wrong’, and she proceeds to tell them that this does not make someone a false prophet. She instructs those gathered to close their eyes, think on a word that the Holy Spirit is giving them, and if they do not get anything, they should make up a word.” Here’s why this is such a concern.
Flashback: Prayers To Pray While You Preach, Lead, and Sing
It is wise to pray while you preach and to pray while you lead. In his book On Worship H.B. Charles Jr. writes, “You ask, ‘Can you preach and pray at the same time?’ My answer, ‘You better!’”

Maturity happens when you put yourself in the place God wants you. Don’t run because there’s adversity. Maybe God wants to use the adversity to make you more like Jesus. —Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon

Today is the day: Seasons of Sorrow is now officially available. If you pre-ordered a copy, you should already have it or it should already be on its way. If you didn’t pre-order a copy, then you can order it right now and it will be shipped immediately.

Seasons of Sorrow is an honest look at grief and fears, faith and hope. Combining personal narrative, sound theology, and the best writing I am capable of, this is a book for anyone who has loved and lost, for anyone who has endured suffering and sorrow.
The background is probably familiar to most of you. On November 3, 2020, Aileen and I received the shocking news that our son Nick had died. A twenty-year-old student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, he had been participating in a school activity with his fiancée, sister, and friends, when he fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground.
Neither students nor a passing doctor nor paramedics were able to revive him. We received the news at our home in Toronto and immediately departed for Louisville to be together as a family. While on the plane, I began to process my loss through writing. In Seasons of Sorrow, I share real-time reflections from the first year of grief—through the seasons from fall to summer.
It is my sincere hope that Seasons of Sorrow will benefit both those that are working through sorrow and those who may be attempting to bring comfort to others. I mean for it to show people how God is sovereign over loss and that he is good in loss, to help them see how they can pass through times of grief while keeping and even strengthening their faith, to learn how biblical doctrine can work itself out even in life’s most difficult situations, and to understand how it is possible to love God more after loss than you loved him before.
I would be honored and delighted if you would buy it and read it—or perhaps buy it and give it to someone who would benefit from it.

I have prepared a couple of additional resources that may prove helpful:

A Letter to Parents – This is a letter I have prepared addressed to parents who have lost a child. If you plan to give bereaved parents a copy of Seasons of Sorrow, you may like to print this and include it with the book.
Helpful Things To Say To Grieving Parents – If you are walking through the loss of a child with a friend or family member, this article will help you know how you can best serve them in their darkest hour.

Endorsements

‘If ever there was a book Tim Challies needed to write, it’s this one. And it’s a book I needed to read. Within these pages, you will do more than enter Tim’s story of enormous loss; you will come out on the other side having gained a softer heart and a renewed courage to persevere through your own dark seasons of affliction.’ — Joni Eareckson Tada, founder of the Joni and Friends International Disability Center
‘Seasons of Sorrow is a beautiful book. Reading it is like holding a precious gift, like standing on holy ground.’ — Paul David Tripp, pastor, speaker, author of New Morning Mercies and Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
‘Seasons of Sorrow cut straight to my soul. I read it within a few weeks of the unexpected deaths of two close friends and while my wife struggles bravely with stage 4 cancer. Tim’s heartfelt pain and Christ-centered perspective spoke to both my heart and my head.’ — Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven and If God Is Good
‘Tim Challies has taken us into his confidence by writing with such self-searching honesty. It is a painful pleasure to be invited into these sacred moments of grief and to be helped by the reminder that God is too kind ever to be cruel and too wise ever to make a mistake.’ — Alistair Begg, senior pastor, Parkside Church, and host of the Truth for Life radio program
‘Believers need this book, and only Tim Challies could have written it. I am so thankful that Nick was a student at Boyce College, and his influence as a young Christian was remarkable.’ — Albert and Mary Mohler
‘In the pages of this book, grieving people will find companionship, insight, and genuine encouragement for the journey.’ — Nancy Guthrie, author of Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow and cohost of Respite Retreats for grieving parents
‘This book is brilliant, not because of Tim Challies’s eloquence, but because of his tears! The buoyancy of faith that shines from every page often left me teary-eyed, thanking God for his grace to his people during their darkest times. What priceless grace!’ — Conrad Mbewe, pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church and founding chancellor of the African Christian University
‘If you have lost a loved one to death, as everyone has, or if you have buried a child, as many have, Tim Challies is your friend. Your brother. Your lifeline.’ — Robert and Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, bestselling authors

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

I have only found one Kindle deals so far today, but it’s a good one at least.
Why Pro-Abortion Activists Desecrate Churches
Carl Trueman: “The church service is not simply a convenient place to intimidate pro-life campaigners. To attack a worship service is not simply to annoy the participants. It is to profane the sacred. It is to enact that which abortion itself represents. It is to spit on the very identity of those worshipping and thus upon the God whom they worship. It is to strike at the very heart of what Christians believe it means to be human, a dependent creature in the presence of a holy God.”
Why I got out of Twitter
Ray Ortlund’s reasons for leaving Twitter sound a lot like my own.
Screaming in the Face of Death
“It is difficult to tell if the countenance is grinning, scowling, or yawning open with insatiable hunger, but it seems that Death’s face is closer than usual as it stares out from the inky shadows at the edges of life. Death feels more present than usual right now.” It really does, doesn’t it?
A Conveyor Belt
“Jesus wants you to do the next thing in your walk with him. The next act of repentance, the next act of forgiveness, crush the next idol, love the next person above yourself, refuse the next temptation, tear down the next boundary. And he wants you to do nothing else.” That’s worth pondering.
Fertility Is Not A Disease
“Sexual pleasure has become the god of our culture to which all other gods must bow. One of its contenders is reproduction itself. We must separate the pleasure of sex from reproduction and fertility, or there can be no sexual freedom. ‘My body, my choice’ is the battle cry of a generation who, whether they realize it or not, are rebelling against their natural design. Nature, not the patriarchy, is what our culture hates most.”
DJ Mattson’s Senior Testimony at The Master’s Seminary
This is quite something. “Twelve days after giving his testimony, DJ graduated. He walked across the platform, received his diploma, moved his tassel from the left to right side of his cap, descended the stairs, and died.”
Flashback: The Joy of Self-Discipline
When we associate discipline only with avoidance of negative outcomes we rob ourselves of a means God uses to promote our joy and ultimately our joy in him. Where would God have you develop a discipline for your joy?

As sure as ever God puts his children in the furnace, he will be in the furnace with them. —Charles Spurgeon