We are probably so accustomed to seeing bonsai trees that we don’t think much about them. But have you ever paused to consider how strange and freakish they really are?
Bonsai trees are otherwise-normal trees that are deliberately kept small. They are grown in little pots where they can put down only shallow roots. They are obsessively pruned to stunt them and keep them from growing tall or wide. They are mighty woods relegated to mere flowerpots, whole forests confined to side tables. Though they may live for centuries, they grow no more than one or two feet tall. Though they have such potential, their gardener applies constant and deliberate action to keep them from ever reaching it. What a strange thing that a gardener would choose to grow a dwarf in place of a giant.
Some churches do something like this to those who attend them, don’t they? They fear that doctrine is drab or divisive, that it is boring or alienating, and determine that it is best to keep the church entertained and immature. They feed their senses rather than their souls and tickle their egos rather than transform their minds. Rather than help them grow tall and broad in their faith they keep them low and stunted. They give them a bonsai faith.
And then some Christians do something like this to themselves, don’t they? They make a profession of faith but content themselves with scant growth and bare maturity. They can sometimes seem to be passive in this, but there is a sense in which they are very active. They do not merely allow themselves to be satisfied with spiritual puniness but they actively pursue it. They work to dwarf themselves, to resist the impulse to grow their knowledge and stretch their faith. They restrain the Spirit who would so readily help them to grow. They give themselves a bonsai faith.
God’s purpose for his people is never smallness and never stagnation.Share
But God’s purpose for his people is never smallness and never stagnation. Rather, his purpose for us is constant transformation, constant renewal, constant growth. We are to resist any allure toward spiritual laziness and instead be active in growing and maturing. We are to press on, always straining, always striving, always pressing on toward the goal.
Thankfully, God is committed to our growth and eager to help us. And thankfully there is no trick to spiritual growth and no mystery to solve. We simply have to take hold of the means he gives us—to obey him by being baptized and taking the Lord’s supper, to grow in our relationship with him through Word and prayer, to commit ourselves to a local church where we can serve and be served. As we take hold of these simple means and as we dedicate ourselves to them, God transforms us from the inside out. He causes us to grow rather than stagnate, to have a faith that is tall and broad rather than shrunken and puny. This and so much more is ours through Christ if only we will reach out and take it, if only we will resist the allure to be bonsai Christians who have a bonsai faith.

If you’re a bonsai lover, don’t be a hater. I think they’re neat too. They just happen to make a vivid illustration.

Good morning. May the Lord be with you and bless you today.
The Kindle deals continue today!
Westminster Books is offering deals on children’s books this week, including a sweet new one from Jonathan Gibson.

Probably all of us have wondered this at one time or another, whether to justify our own purchases or to pass condemnation on someone else’s.

I admire pastor Leonardo De Chirico and appreciate the stand he is taking in Rome. (You may need to have a free account at CT to read this one.)

I found this a really interesting one from Matthew Westerholm. He discusses how worship education (and, specifically, training people to lead worship in churches) has changed over the years.

“Show me a big dream if you’d like, but what really impresses me is the ordinary faithfulness of hidden saints.” Amen!

“I admire people who know how to say no. More specifically, I admire people who recognize that they have limits. People who know that, as much as they might want to, they can’t do everything. Whether it’s attending social gatherings, taking on special projects, or anything else you can think of, they know their priorities, and their limitations.” And amen to this as well!

Nick explains how and why you are probably WEIRDER than you think.

“Now this is me, not the Bible.” You are making it clear that you’ve gone from an area of absolute biblical clarity to an area of wisdom and conscience. You are ensuring that both you and he acknowledge the difference.

The deepest passion of the heart of Jesus was not the saving of men, but the glory of God; and then the saving of men, because that is for the glory of God.
—G. Campbell Morgan

I like to offer the occasional reminder that this site is supported in large part by readers like you. Those interested in becoming supporters can do so via the excellent Patreon service.
If you’re into Kindle deals, it’s best to check in every day as many of them now last for just 24 hours.
(Yesterday on the blog: Why Didn’t You Tell Me?)

We can most appreciate God’s kindness when we acknowledge that we don’t deserve it. “When the diagnosis came in February of 2023, God was good. When we discovered that the chemotherapy wasn’t working, God was good. When radiation could not keep up with the spreading of Robyn’s cancer, God was good. When we faced the deep valley of hospice, God was good. When we told the kids their dear mother would meet Jesus sooner than we expected, God was good. And when she departed for that eternal shore, forever to be with her Savior . . . God. Was. Good. He has always, and only, been good to Robyn and me.”

Jake Meador explains some of what he heard at an event featuring Jordan Peterson. “As we were leaving the ‘We Who Wrestle with God’ tour last Thursday night in Omaha, my friends and I were talking about the lecture when one of them said, ‘I don’t think they actually wrestled with God. They just wrestled with themselves.’ It’s an insightful comment, and a true one.”

Jim Donohue explains why his church has an evangelist on staff and why your church may benefit from it as well.

“Based on how you lived last week, what was your primary pursuit? Was it career, money, recognition, promotion, family, pleasure, or something else? We often know what the correct answer should be, but our lives often paint another picture.”

I enjoyed this little piece from Abigail Follows and very much identify with her fear of driving in India!

Kim Riddelbarger continues his “The Basics” series with a look at the new heavens and new earth. He makes some important distinctions and clarifications.

“This could never be God’s will.”…They want to protect God from his own sovereignty, as if it does not extend to matters as consequential as sorrow, suffering, and death.

May our passion for Christ always be greater than our passion for an easy and comfortable life.
—Burk Parsons

This week the blog is sponsored by Help The Persecuted.
“Can I have a Bible?”
The guard studied Qasem. “If you paint the walls of every cell in this prison, I’ll get you a Bible.”
“Where is the paint?”
And so Qasem, enduring what would ultimately be a three-year sentence for running house churches throughout Iran, began the weeks-long process of repainting the walls of the prison that had become his home. The time passed quickly, so great was his longing for the Word of God.
His path to faith in Jesus Christ had been hard. His parents, who were Muslims in Iran, divorced when he was little. As a 13-year-old, he woke up one day to discover his mother lying next to him, dead. Over time, he turned to drugs to cope and fell into a deep depression.
At the height of desperation, Qasem asked Allah, the god of his childhood, to end his life. Instead, he had a chance encounter with a distant relative…who shared the hope of the gospel. Qasem instantly fell in love with Jesus, and his heart finally felt peace! He was discipled in the faith and started many house churches. One grew from four to 200 members—all converts from Islam—in a matter of months.
Then the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence raided one of his house churches. Qasem was arrested and mercilessly blindfolded, interrogated, and charged with apostasy from Islam and conspiring against the government.
In the midst of everything, a surge of hope rushed through Qasem when the prison guard promised him a Bible. When every inch of prison walls gleamed with new paint, he went to the guard and asked for it.
“No, of course not!”
Qasem’s face fell as he thought back to the weeks of labor. Perhaps it spurred the guard to a rare moment of compassion.
“But you normally get six minutes of phone time each day. I’ll give you fifteen from now on.”
It was enough.
Knowing that someone on the other side of the world was praying for him strengthened Qasem’s heart. Share
Day after day, Qasem smuggled a pen and paper to his phone time, where a friend would dictate the Bible to him in their native Persian. Soon, he had most of the New Testament. He shared it with his fellow inmates, many of whom came from extremist Islamic backgrounds and had never heard about a compassionate, loving God. Conversions to Christ came in droves.
The guards, alarmed by the growing number of Christians in a country where people are executed for apostasy from Islam, quarantined all the Christians in a single block in the prison.
Unable to evangelize, Qasem grew weary and discouraged in his faith. When his Christian friends were denied their rightful release, he went on a hunger strike that lasted 60 days to get the judge’s attention.
On one of his worst days, battling extreme hunger and sadness, Qasem received a postcard in the mail from Denver, Colorado. He later learned that hundreds of postcards had been sent to him over the years, but only this one ever arrived. It said, “I prayed for you today, that our heavenly Father will comfort you, give you peace, and heal you.” Knowing that someone on the other side of the world was praying for him strengthened Qasem’s heart. To this day, he says this postcard saved his life.
Qasem’s friends were released, and a few months later, he was, too. He was told if he remained in Iran, he would be imprisoned again—or worse. He fled to Turkey, where he serves persecuted believers, many from Iran, with the ministry Help The Persecuted, which rescues, restores, and rebuilds the lives of persecuted believers in the Islamic World.
Help The Persecuted has on-the-ground ministers, including Qasem, in 13 countries, the vast majority of whom have faced imprisonment, torture, and death threats for their faith in Jesus. Every week, they meet with persecuted believers like themselves, providing spiritual support and tangible help. In addition, they record the specific prayer needs of each person. Every Saturday, Help The Persecuted sends out a prayer newsletter including 10 of the most imminent prayer requests.
We invite you to join Help The Persecuted’s Prayer Network and commit to praying weekly for the specific needs of persecuted Christians as well as for the growth of the Church in the Islamic World. There are so many more believers like Qasem for whom prayer makes all the difference. Join their Prayer Network here.

If you have spent any time at all on YouTube, you have probably seen videos of people hearing for the first time or people seeing color for the first time—videos of people who, through the miracles of modern science, have senses restored that had either been missing altogether or that had become dull through illness or accidents. It is hard not to be moved as a child hears her mother’s voice for the first time or to be thrilled as a man gets his first glimpse of the world in color.
But we only ever see the beginning of these journeys. After all, short-form videos can show us little more than the first reactions—the gasps of surprise, the looks of wonder, the tears of joy. But there is, of course, much more to learn and much more to celebrate in the days that follow.
I recently read of a teenager whose hearing had been restored. After some time had passed, the teen eventually said something like this to her mother: “You didn’t tell me that music is so beautiful. Why didn’t you tell me just how stirring it is to listen to Pachelbel’s Canon or how Handel’s Messiah can bring tears to my eyes? Why didn’t you tell me?”
And eventually, the person who was color blind must say to his wife, “I just didn’t know how beautiful the world is. Why didn’t you tell me how stunning it is to watch the orange rays of the sun as it sets over the ocean? Why didn’t you tell me how beautiful you look when you wear that red dress? Why didn’t you help me understand?”
And the mother of the person who had been deaf said, “I tried to explain, but until your ears were unblocked, you could not truly understand. You needed to be cured before you could grasp what I had so often tried to tell you.” The wife of the man who had been colorblind must have said, “I did my best to explain, but until your eyes were opened you simply could not see and therefore you could not understand. I tried to describe red and pink and orange, but you could not appreciate them until you could see them.”
And isn’t that the experience of those of us who have come to faith in the Lord Jesus? People tried to tell us what it is like to know the voice of the Good Shepherd, but it did not sound very compelling. They tried to show us the glories of Christ, but he did not look very glorious. For years or even decades we were told and we were shown. And we judged it bland and boring.
But then God unblocked our ears and we heard. He opened our eyes and we saw. And then we began to hear what our ears had been unable to catch, to see what our eyes had been unable to glimpse. And we might have been tempted to go to our Christian friends and family members to say, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you show me?” But they could only have replied, “We tried. We tried, but you were deaf and could not hear. You were blind and could not see. But let’s praise God together that he has given hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind. Let’s praise God that he has allowed you to hear and see the glories of Christ.”

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few solid choices from Crossway. Also be sure to check some of the books that I listed over the weekend.
(Yesterday on the blog: We All Have To Do With God)

Kenneth Berding provides a useful example of how not to apply the Bible. And, of course, he tells us how we should apply it as well.

This is just a simple roundup of 30 people mentioned in the New Testament who have been confirmed by the historical record.

I do not understand the Taylor Swift phenomenon! David Robertson offers some thoughts on it in relation to Swift’s tour arriving in Australia. “In the rejection of God, a culture tends to lose its mind and look for other saviours. If you doubt that, then just consider that in the past week, I have read about Taylor saving the Australian economy through Taylornomics, women in China and the planet – as well as getting Biden re-elected!”

Barbara explains one way in which we can all subtly live as if the prosperity gospel is true. “Most of us realize the ‘prosperity gospel’ is wrong—the belief that if you obey God, especially in giving big offerings to their evangelists, you’ll be blessed with health, wealth, and prosperity. But we unwittingly buy into a version of the same thought.”

Jason DeRouchie offers 10 reasons that the Old Testament matters to Christians. “To understand the Old Testament fully, we must start reading it as believers in the resurrected Jesus, with God having awakened our spiritual senses to perceive and hear rightly.”

Charlie Carter considers life and death, new cars and old cars, and a few other matters here.

Just as a tower is straight only to the degree to which it matches the builder’s perfect line, our lives are right only to the degree to which they match God’s perfect law. 

I have to tell you that heaven, earth and hell are after your immortal spirit. Earth to cheat it. Hell to destroy it. Heaven to redeem it.
—De Witt Talmage

Every one of us must deal with God. Every one of us must, at some time, face God. Every one of us must be prepared to give an account to God. For, as Scripture says, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” or “to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). F.B. Meyer once reflected on this reality, then charged his readers to consider the fact carefully and to prepare themselves well.

We all have to do with God. You cannot break the connection.
You must do with Him as a rebel, if not as a friend, on the ground of works, if not on the ground of grace, at the great white throne, if not in the fleeting days of time.
You cannot do without God. You cannot do as you would if there were no God. You cannot avoid having to do with Him, for even though you were to say there was no God, doing violence to the clearest instincts of your being, yet still you would breathe His air, eat His provender, occupy His world, and stand at last before His bar.
…
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him.
Do you want guidance? Look up! those eyes wait to guide by a glance.Are you in sorrow? They will film with tears.Are you going astray? They shall beckon you back, and break your heart, as they did Peter’s.
You will come to find your heaven in the light radiated by the eye of God, when once you have learned to meet it, clad in the righteousness of Jesus.
Unconverted reader, remember there is no screen from the eye of God. His eyes are as a flame of fire; and our strongest screens crackle up as thinnest gauze before the touch of that holy flame. Even rocks and hills are inadequate to hide from the face of Him that sits upon the throne.