Sometimes I enjoy a book, but still find myself scratching my head about certain elements of it. Sometimes I genuinely appreciate what an author has to say, yet find myself wondering about some of his claims. And this is exactly the case with Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew. It’s an enjoyable book and in many ways an inspiring one. But it’s also a little bit confusing at times.

Micah Wilder was raised in a faithful and devout Mormon home, first in Indiana and then in Utah. Like many young Mormons, he decided to embark on a two-year evangelistic mission. Though initially told he would be assigned to Mexico, medical issues intervened and he was instead dispatched to Florida. For much of the time he spread the Mormon gospel, telling all who would listen (and many who wouldn’t) that God was restoring the true Christian faith through the Mormon church.
Several months into this mission, Micah encountered a Baptist pastor. He was intent on converting this pastor to Mormonism and convinced he had provided a perfect defense of his faith. But there was one thing he couldn’t shake. The pastor had listened attentively, then encouraged Micah to do the simplest thing: to read the Bible free of Mormon presuppositions while pleading with the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word. He took up the challenge and read the New Testament not once, but repeatedly. And over time God was pleased to act—he opened Micah’s eyes to the truth. He came to understand that, contrary to Mormonism, he could not earn his salvation, but could receive it only as a free gift of grace. He repented, believed, and was saved.
Yet he was still in the Mormon church and his newfound convictions did not go over well with his leaders. Inevitably, he was called before them and disciplined. He left the church and began a ministry meant to reach Mormons and others with the good news of what Christ has done. Happily, his girlfriend (now his wife) also came to faith, as did his siblings and parents. (His mother, Lynn, has told her story in Unveiling Grace.) It is a wonderful story and is well-told. He focuses a great deal of attention on the reliability of Scripture and the essential doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And at the same time, he refutes the contradictory Mormon doctrines, which makes this a book that may prove useful in reaching other Mormons.
So where do my hesitations come in? First in the lack of attention to the importance of the local church in the life of the Christian. I understand that coming out of an institution as overbearing as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, Wilder may have had some hesitations about aligning with another institution. Yet while his conversion happened outside the context of a local church, he never seems to integrate with one and tell his readers that they ought to do the same. Even now it’s hard to tell if he is connected to a local church or if he’s merely connected to a parachurch organization. There is also the role of different forms of prophecy or other unusual elements in his story in which he is told—and appears to believe—that he has an unusually important role to play in God’s plan for this world. And then there is the way he tells the story as if he could recollect the fine details of conversations that took place decades earlier, something that does not seem entirely plausible.
Yet these potential weaknesses aside, Passport to Heaven is an interesting and engaging book and its author has an important story to tell. It is encouraging to read how the Lord saved him and called him to himself, and a blessing to see how that work then spread throughout his family. Already the book seems to have made an impact among Mormons and I pray that in the years ahead it will continue to do so. I am glad I took the time to read it.

There’s a new biography of Elisabeth Elliot available and Westminster Books has it on sale right out of the gate.

Today’s Kindle deals include a complete series of excellent Bible studies by John Scott.
Toe the Government Line or Lose Your Kids
I think Carl Trueman points out something really important in this article. “While the trans issue is the presenting problem, the California bill points toward something of much broader significance: the rise of the notion that parents are defined by function rather than biology.”
Of the Shortcomings of Internet Conventions and a Thought on the SBC-AM 2023
Travis raises some important considerations about watching and analyzing conventions through livestreams.
Good Book Guides Giveaway: Enter for the Chance to Win 59 Bible Studies
The Good Book Guide series is now available in sets! Enter for a chance to win a set of 59 Bible studies to celebrate! 🎉 (Sponsored Link)
My God Is All I Need (Video)
CityAlight has released a new song!
Eikon 5.1 (Spring 2023)
CBMW has released a new issue of their journal Eikon. This one is dedicated entirely to providing a response to the third edition of Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives.
I Remember a Dirt Road
Melissa has written a sweet reflection life and roads and other things.
Sexual Intimacy in Marriage: A Joint Trust
“Paul presents a vision of radical mutuality and sexual equality in marriage. His view was both daring and challenging in the first century and remains so today. He portrays sexual intimacy as a precious gift to those who are married—a joint trust of sorts (much like a financial trust). It’s not an entitlement or something to demand, but something to steward and tend together for the benefit of both spouses.”
Flashback: Each Man Before the Mob
We should be happier if a man follows a different path than we do while heeding his conscience than if he imitates us while violating it. We should affirm him in making a decision that is different from our own, as long as that decision is consistent with his conscience.

The entire purpose of our lives — what God wants from us — is to do good for others, to the glory of God. —Matt Perman

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

I don’t often mention Visual Theology these days, but did want to draw your attention to the new Bible Cards—a set of 90 visually striking flashcards that make learning the Bible fun and interactive. They are available now for pre-order!
There’s another good little batch of Kindle deals today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Royalty in Disguise)
God Thought, and Thought, and Thought
Samuel James: “When I was growing up, Mom would tell me sometimes: ‘God thought, and thought, and thought, and he made you a boy.’ This is a beautiful thought to me.” He tells why this simple thought is especially important today.
Transgenderism and Kids
Speaking of which, here’s a resource letter that may prove helpful to some.
The “Narrative” vs. the Reality of SBC ‘23
“It’s been nearly a week since the SBC annual meeting finished up in New Orleans. I have been fascinated to read all of the ‘reports’ and commentary that have come out over the last seven days. One thing that has become very clear. Even some of the ‘straight news’ reporting has been beholden to a narrative that distorts what actually happened.” Denny explains.
Motherhood Isn’t Martyrdom
Kira Nelson: “Of course, motherhood is hard and, in some cases, deeply painful. It’s right, good, and wise to share our struggles openly and honestly with one another, especially in the body of Christ. It’d be folly to pretend that we’ve mastered mothering or that our kids escaped original sin. However, many of our taglines overemphasize the pain of motherhood to the exclusion of the delight.”
Biblical Manhood vs Traditional African Manhood
I found this an interesting consideration of biblical versus traditional manhood (even though it’s set in a context very different from my own).
Hospitality Is About More Than Food
“When I think of hospitality, I immediately think of having someone over to my house, feeding them a meal, and spending the evening in good conversation. And while that has biblical precedence … I think we can miss the heart behind hospitality when we simplify it to a meal in our homes.”
Flashback: Sometimes It’s Best To Express Your Wisdom in Silence
We would all do well to remember that true wisdom is not only knowing your subject well, but also knowing the limitations of your knowledge. We aren’t wise until we know what we know and what we don’t know.

The Bible is living and active. It’s light in the darkness. It’s hope for the hopeless. It is right and it’s true. It’s breathed out by God and it accomplishes the purposes of God. It is the word of eternal life. It is the living and abiding word. —Alistair Begg

The son of King Jeroboam had fallen deathly ill. His father was understandably worried, concerned to know whether his child would live or die. He knew just where to go for a trustworthy answer. Yet he also knew that he could not go himself.

He came up with a devious plan: he would send his wife in his place. He would send her in secret, he would send her in disguise. And she, in the guise of a disinterested commoner, would ask the prophet on her husband’s behalf. So, taking the gift of a peasant rather than the gift of a king, and wearing the clothes of a laborer rather than the clothes of a queen, she set out on her journey.
She eventually arrived at Shiloh, at the home of the prophet Ahijah. Yet she quickly learned that this prophet was not fooled by her disguise, for God had told him that she would arrive. And God had also told him what message he must deliver. “I am charged with unbearable news for you,” he said—the unbearable news that Jeroboam’s line would come to a tragic end and that, of all his household, this child alone would receive a proper, dignified burial. “When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.”
There is much we ought to learn from this tragic story. But today my heart is drawn to one simple lesson: There are times when royalty passes before us and we do not see it. There are times when we are in the presence of kings and queens, of princes and princesses, and we do not identify it. We do not acknowledge it.
Jeroboam’s wife passed through the land and no one knew or even suspected that she was anyone other than a commoner. Yet she was as much a queen walking to Shiloh with dust on her feet as she was sitting in the palace with diamonds around her neck. Her simple clothes and humble demeanor may have masked the reality, but they did not negate it.
A few weeks ago, I stood in the humblest of villages in the distant reaches of rural Cambodia. This is a village that has not yet been reached by electricity or running water. Yet it has been reached by the gospel and all but a scant remainder of its people have believed and become royalty—sons and daughters of the King. They wear the disguise of farmers who tend to rubber plantations and cashew groves. But even though their homes are tiny and unadorned, and even though they wear no crowns and own no robes, they are most truly princes and princesses who simply await their full inheritance.
A week later, I found myself in Fiji, making friends with men who have traveled from across the great expanses of the Pacific to be trained as pastors. Some have come from locations so remote that until they arrived at the seminary they had never even seen a car. They are humble men who have little and who may never own so much of what you and I are certain we could never live without. They pass their days in the guise of students who attend a seminary few have heard of so they can become pastors in places few will ever visit. No one greets them with honor and no one bows in their presence. Yet they, too, are royalty, made by God, known by God, loved by God, adopted by God.
And so, it strikes me that as you worship this Sunday, as you gather with your church, you should keep in mind the reality that you are surrounded by royalty. Maybe you will begin the service with a song like:

O worship the King all-glorious above,O gratefully sing his power and his love:our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

Give praise to your King! And perhaps as you do so, look around, look beyond the disguises—the suits and ties or the jeans and t-shirts—to see God’s family before him, God’s family joined together in worship, God’s sons and daughters rejoicing together in the Father who has made them his own, the Father who is worthy of their most heartfelt praise.

I want to remind you that my devotional book Understanding and Trusting Our Great God (which is the second volume in the Words from the Wise series) is releasing soon. It’s now available for pre-order!

Westminster Books is having a sale on some of their favorite books from the past 20 years. There’s something there for everyone!
There are a couple of good Kindle deals available as well.
Appeal for Religious Liberty to a Culture Embracing Pride Month
“I’m appealing to non-Christian friends. I want you to see that religion is core to who Christians are. Yes, we still want to be good neighbors. No, we’re not trying to manipulate American society for our own ends. But we cannot compromise our convictions. We believe America can still be a place that welcomes a plurality of ideas into the public square. It can be a place where tolerance is still maintained.”
Don’t Fall Into Ditches When It Comes to Preaching
“I’ve seen the danger of falling into one of two ditches when it comes to preaching. We do well to avoid both.” Darryl explains what they are.
Good Book Guides Giveaway: Enter for the Chance to Win 59 Bible Studies
Enter for a chance to win a set of 59 Bible studies from The Good Book Company, written by trusted teachers like Tim Keller, Ligon Duncan, Eric Mason, and more. (Sponsored Link)
A call for evangelism, and why it might be missing in the West
It’s a valid question: why are so many Christians so passive when it comes to evangelism?
The End of Exodus
Mitch explains why the deliverance from Egypt is not the climax of the book of Exodus. Something else is…
What If I Don’t Know When I Believed in Christ?
“I spiraled into a season of doubting my salvation in Christ. This severe doubt led me to sit in my pastor’s office where I heard an analogy from Spurgeon that continues to comfort me. And if you struggle with doubt and assurance, I trust this will aid you as it did me.”
If You Care About Spiritual Abuse, Watch Your Language
Trevin raises some very important points here. “If we really care about spiritual abuse, then we must push back against the dilution of the meaning of serious words. Otherwise, we create unhelpful expectations for life together in the church and the world.”
Flashback: The Lost Spiritual Discipline
In his classic work Holy Helps for a Godly Life, Richard Rogers draws out a spiritual discipline that has largely been lost and neglected in recent years—the discipline of watchfulness.

Our culture tells us that the problem is outside us and the solution is inside us. The gospel tells us that the problem is inside us and the solution is outside us. —Dane Ortlund

I like to provide the occasional reminder that a good bit of the content of this site is available in Spanish at es.challies.com. Enjoy!

(Yesterday on the blog: With Blistered Hands and Aching Backs)
How Does the Doctrine of the Bodily Resurrection Shape the Life of the Local Church?
From Credo magazine: “Biblical doctrine is not just for the head but for the heart, for daily life as a disciple of Jesus. So it is, too, with the doctrine of bodily resurrection. Thinking about the future will help us here and now. In local churches that are pursuing faithfulness to Christ, we will want to connect the importance of sound doctrine to the lives of our church members. How, then, does the doctrine of bodily resurrection shape the life of the local church? Let’s reflect on four ways.”
Forgetting God
Benjamin Shaw explains how we can be forgetful people–so much so that we can begin to become forgetful toward God.
My Unbelieving Dad Helped Me See Jesus
“I wouldn’t be the Christian I am today if it wasn’t for my father. Plenty of people express this sentiment, but I’m different. My dad isn’t a Christian.” This is a sweet testimony to God’s goodness.
How to Live for God by Fearing Him First
“The fear of God does not repulse us but attracts us. The fear of God does not enslave us but liberates us. The fear of God does not drive us to desperation but guides us to peace. In sum, there is no greater thing to fill our hearts than the fear of God. ”
God’s pleasure is not reserved for a particularly faithful few
Stephen wants us to consider that God’s “well done” is not reserved for just the particularly faithful few. And the reason for that is all about the work of Christ and our union with him.
Preaching that Moves the Heart
Here’s a good, basic take on preaching that moves the heart.
Flashback: Before You Pack Up and Leave…
What should you do when you begin feeling discontent at your church? What should you do when you feel that yearning to pick up and move on? What should you do when you find yourself eager to slip out of one church and into another? I’d like to offer just a few suggestions that I hope you’ll consider and put into practice.

Humans cannot truly thrive unless we hear and take to heart what God says about us, our purpose and our need. —Edward Welch

Many years ago a great sailing ship was crossing the Atlantic when it came to the treacherous Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Though this is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world, it can all also be one of the most treacherous. Its waters are shallow and often blanketed by dense fog. Icebergs lurk in the darkness. And sure enough, that ship blundered into a great bank of fog and struck a massive iceberg.

Within moments the vessel began to settle heavily at the bow and the call went out to abandon ship. One of the terrified passengers cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” at which the captain replied, “Jump into the lifeboat!” The passenger saw that the lifeboat was a little way beyond the deck of the ship and a good bit lower down. Afraid and uncertain, he hesitated for a moment as he counted the cost. Should he leap or should he wait? Was it possible there might be another way to be rescued?
But the moment of hesitation passed and he chose to take the captain at his word. He chose to trust that the boat would be able to save him. He made the leap. His faith was rewarded when he landed within the craft and took his place beside some of the other passengers and crew. Together they watched with horror as first the deck and then the masts slipped beneath the waves. Soon there was nothing around them but a few stray pieces of wreckage and a haunting silence.
But the peril was not yet over. Though the people who had survived the sinking of the ship had been saved from death, they were still far out in a dangerous ocean. They could not just sit still and hope for rescue. There was something more they must do if they wished to make it to land. The captain, having taken his place in the front of the lifeboat, told each of the passengers to take up an oar, to slip it into an oarlock, and to row with all their strength. Having been saved from death on the ship, they now needed to work out that salvation through hard rowing.
And so, hour after hour and day and day after day, they put their strength into the work. Though they were safe within the lifeboat and fully dependent upon it to keep them from being lost in the depths of the ocean, they still needed to expend a great deal of effort. With blistered hands and aching backs, they pressed on through dark nights and dangerous seas.
And then the moment came when the cry went out: “Land ahead! Land!” Straining their eyes they saw the unmistakable rise of a hill in the distance. With fresh vigor they pressed on. As the waters grew shallower and the air grew warmer, they began to hear the sound of waves breaking against the beach. And as the bow finally scraped against ground, they leapt onto the shore knowing their salvation was now complete.
They knew their salvation was complete because here, in this new land, the waves could not reach them and the storm could not threaten them. They had reached a haven. They were safe. They were saved.
(Romans 8:29:30)

Inspired by the writings of F.B. Meyer

Good morning. Grace and peace to you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include a selection from Crossway themed around marriage and family.
(Yesterday on the blog: All the Compassions of All the Tender Fathers)
To the Older Woman in the Church: You Are NOT Obsolete
This is a good one from Michele as she reflects on the fact that Tim Keller didn’t publish The Reason for God until he was 57. “The word ‘marinate’ comes to mind when I consider Keller’s years of quiet, unseen faithfulness. They were apparently no more absent of significant activity than a drop of pond water under a microscope, but they could have felt that way–without God’s microscope.”
Easy Christlikeness
“Some Christians think that because they love those that like them, they are being Christlike. And probably they are. In fact, some Christians outside of Christ would be unkind even to those that like them—they would give evil for good. They are rascals. I was one of those rascals before Christ. That is a change that the gospel makes in us. But that’s the low hanging fruit of sanctification. Jesus said that even unbelievers love those that love them (Luke 6:32). It’s not that hard.”
Good Book Guides Giveaway: Enter for the Chance to Win 59 Bible Studies
The Good Book Company is giving away a set of 32 expository guides to one winner in celebration of their new God’s Word For You Sets. (Sponsored Link)
10 Things You Should Know about the Fall
Mitch offers 10 things that you ought to know about the fall.
Pride Month Didn’t Happen Overnight
Cole says that “we would do well to remember that fruit always begins as seeds. Or, to speak less cryptically, Pride Month did not happen overnight. I feel compelled to make such a statement because I live in a largely conservative small town, where most of my fellow citizens can recognize at least some of the vanity within Vanity Fair. Those who don’t know the difference between a man and a woman are ‘out there;’ we are rooted in reality. But are we?”
Forgiveness and Seeing the Father’s Smile
“Does God, like us, struggle to extend forgiveness when we ask him? Does he get caught up in his anger, like we do, and withdraw from us? Does he get frustrated by our repeated, selfish offenses against him and feel it’s necessary to put some distance between us, even for a little while?”
Why Chromosome Variations Do Not Create Additional Sexes
This is a helpful explanation as to why chromosome variations do not create additional sexes.
Flashback: A Lover of the Lord Lives There!
“And Lord Jesus, not only write your name upon the gates of my house, but engrave it at the center of my heart and my affections—on my first, and last, my earliest, and latest thoughts!”

If a man is worth nothing but money he is poor indeed. If a man have upright character he is rich. —De Witt Talmage

We refer to the first person of the Trinity as “God the Father,” and it is important to understand that God’s fatherhood comes before any fatherhood among human beings. In other words, God did not create human fathers and then begin to describe himself in reference to them. Rather, God has always been Father and created human fathers in reference to him.

Thus, when our earthly fathers act in compassion toward their children, they are merely imitating the compassion of the heavenly Father. “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).
Yet only God is infinitely, eternally, and unchangeably compassionate, which is why Matthew Henry can say that “all the compassions of all the tender fathers in the world compared with the tender mercies of our God would be but as a candle to the sun or a drop to the ocean.” Even at our finest moment, we are only ever the palest imitations of the perfectly and wondrously compassionate God.
And yet what a joy, what a blessing, what an honor that we can be that—that we can be even a pale imitation of One so marvelous, so compassionate, and so lovely as our Father. No wonder, then, that we pause on this day to celebrate our fathers and our Father.
(Excerpted from my forthcoming book Understanding and Trusting Our Great God (Words from the Wise))