Grace and peace to you to.

(Yesterday on the blog: When God Took Away: His Goodness in My Grief)
Knowledge Is Not A Bank
I identify with this. “When I was younger, I thought about knowledge as if it was a bank: that what I stored in my mind would be safe and accessible, and that once I had it, I would have it forever. Now I know that my bank is not a very good one. Not the kind I’d trust my money with, anyway.”
An On-Going Battle
“To put in a flower bed, you clear the ground of rocks, debris, and weeds. You use good soil and quality plants. You stand over your work and admire it, but weeds are starting to pop up in just a few days. These weeds will take over the bed and choke out the flowers if left unattended.” This is an apt illustration of sin.
The Wind, the Waves, & Me
I appreciated Madelyn’s compelling reflection on the wind and waves and on life and death.
Postpartum Bodies and Unordered Thoughts
“Unordered thinking can creep in oh so quickly. If we’re not careful to take thoughts captive and discern if they have any truth to them, we will fall prey to the serpent’s lies. And it seems like women who are walking through the postpartum season are vulnerable targets for the enemy.”
Anglican Division over Scripture and Sexuality Heads South6
Christianity Today reports from the recent Lambeth conference where 125 bishops met for discussions. High on the agenda was LGBT issues. “These disagreements over LGBT rights occur amid the demographic decline of Anglican/Episcopal churches in North America and the UK and the rapid rise of traditional churches in the so-called Global South.”
Faithful in (sm)All Things
Amber Thiessen: “We often calculate the degree of our own influence as dependent on the position – or title – we carry, the number of followers, likes or viral posts we have on social, or the amount of people gathering to our ministry.”
Flashback: The Great Stores of God’s Provision
As we look back on the race we ran, we will see that the God who planned our days, the God whose providence knew the end from the beginning, laid out his provision for us at exactly the points we most needed it, the points we would otherwise have been most likely to be disqualified.

There is a lot you can do to make a difference after you have prayed. But there is really nothing you can do to make a difference until you have prayed. —H.B. Charles Jr.

There is a deep mystery to suffering. While the Bible makes it plain that we must expect to encounter times of sorrow and loss, of trial and grief, we often don’t know why these times come. Though we know he is weaving together a marvelous tapestry that will wondrously display his glory, we also know it is one whose beauty we will fully appreciate only when faith becomes sight.

It was in the waning weeks of 2020 that my family faced our darkest hour, for it was then that the heart of my 20-year-old son Nick suddenly and unexpectedly stopped, and he went to be with the Lord. One moment he was a seminarian leading some fellow students in a game, and the next he was in heaven. His departure shocked us, devastated us, and left us wondering why. Why would God choose this for us, and why would God choose us for this?
In the aftermath of that dreadful evening, I turned to some of my dearest friends, friends who lived and died many years ago, but whom I’ve come to know through the books and sermons they left behind. If a multitude of advisers is necessary for planning well, how much more for grieving well (Proverbs 15:22)? In the most difficult days and darkest hours, they counseled and consoled me.
(This article was commissioned by Desiring God and is posted here with their permission)
Suffering as Witness
Theodore Cuyler was a close and steady companion who encouraged me to accept that God always places bright blessings behind the dark clouds of his providence. F.B. Meyer assured me that peace would come through submission to God’s will, and that I should trust him in the taking as much as I had in the giving. But it was in the words of the old preacher J.R. Miller that I found one piece of wisdom that especially helped quiet my heart and direct my path.
Ofttimes the primary reason why godly men are called to suffer is for the sake of witness they may give to the sincerity of their love for Christ and the reality of divine grace in them. The world sneers at religious profession. It refuses to believe that it is genuine. It defiantly asserts that what is called Christian principle is only selfishness, and that it would not stand severe testing. Then, godly men are called to endure loss, suffering or sorrow, not because there is any particular evil in themselves which needs to be eradicated, but because the Master needs their witness to answer the sneers of the world.
In every age, we hear of professed believers who abandon the faith as soon as they are called to suffer. They are glad enough to express confidence in God as long as his will seems perfectly aligned with their own, as long as his providence decrees what they would choose anyway. But when they are called to lose instead of gain, to weep instead of laugh, to face poverty instead of prosperity, they quickly turn aside and fall away (Matthew 13:20–21). Like towers built on sand, many who stand strong in days of calm collapse in days of flood (Matthew 7:26–27).
No wonder, then, that many unbelievers become convinced that the Christian faith is unequal to great challenges, that Christians will adhere to Christ only while life is easy and circumstances favorable. No wonder, then, that skeptics scoff since they have observed many whose faith was no stronger than its first great challenge. And no wonder, then, that even many sincere believers wonder whether their faith is sufficient for times of deep sorrow, whether it could withstand a dreadful shock.
It is just here that Miller’s word have been both comforting and challenging.
What the World Needs to See
In times of great sorrow, we naturally long for answers. We long to know why a God who is good and who loves us so dearly has decreed such a painful providence. Miller comforted me with the assurance that we do not need to assume that God is punishing us for sin we have committed or chastising for righteousness we have failed to accomplish. We do not need to believe that these circumstances somehow escaped his notice and darted past his control. We do not need to wonder whether it is all just meaningless and purposeless, as if “all things work together for good” except for grueling losses.
No, we can be confident that God has important purposes for our suffering, and we can be equally confident that one of these purposes is simply for us to stand strong, to continue to profess our allegiance to him. If Paul could say that his imprisonment “has really served to advance the gospel,” why shouldn’t we say the same of our bereavements (Philippians 1:12)?
Unbelievers and Christians alike need the assurance that our faith does not depend upon God delivering only what we ourselves would choose and that our love for God does not depend upon circumstances that never contradict our desires. Unbelievers and Christians alike need to be shown that God’s people will be as true to him with little as with much, with broken hearts as with whole, with empty hands as with full. All need to be shown that those who blessed God in the giving will praise him still in the taking, that those who weep tears of sorrow will still raise hands of worship, that those who trust him in the green pastures will trust him still when he leads through dark valleys. And this is precisely what my dear friend J.R. Miller called me to.
Still Good in the Valley
By God’s grace, I can profess from the valley of the shadow of death that my Shepherd is good. I can attest from a place of deep sorrow that God is providing sweet comfort. I can proclaim that while my heart is broken, my faith is intact. I can affirm that a love for God formed in days of sunshine truly can withstand days of rain. So, too, can my wife and my daughters.
There has not been the smallest bit of coercion or the least measure of performance. There has been no need. For together we have learned that while our strength is small, God’s is great. While our hold on him is weak, his grasp on us is strong. While we would certainly be insufficient to this challenge, God has given what we need. The steadfast love of the Lord has not ceased; his mercies have not come to an end, but have been new every morning. Great has been his faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22–23).
We don’t know all the reasons why God chose to take Nick to himself at such a young age, but neither do we have any right to demand answers from our God or to insist that he account for his providence. Our confidence rests not in his explanation but in his character, not in what he has done but in who he is — the one who knows “the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:10).
And from the first moment of that first night of our sorrow, he has been present and kind, faithful and good. He has been true to his every promise. We love him more now than ever.

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include the entire Word Biblical Commentary series. Rather than link to individual volumes, I’ll direct you to the series page where you can access them all. Remember that the accompanying Word Biblical Themes series is also on sale.
When You’re Up to Your Neck in Mud — Sing!
This is a fantastic illustration of the crucial role of singing in the Christian life (and the Navy SEALs).
What David McCullough Can Teach Us
I was saddened to hear that David McCullough has passed away. I very much appreciated Samuel’s tribute to him. “One of McCullough’s great gifts was opening up history so that you could see it the way the people who lived it saw it. In this, I imagine McCullough’s style irritated readers and scholars who preferred a more activist, more moralistic storytelling.”
Dishes and Divorce: Why Little Things Can Lead to a Breakup
“An interesting issue keeps coming up in marriage counseling sessions as my pastor husband and I sit across from couples of all ages and stages of their relationship. Each pair comes in with unique sets of issues, but it never fails that every couple seems to suffer from one specific problem: dishes. Yes, you read that right.”
Clark Stanley: The First Snake Oil Salesman
I enjoyed this account of the very first snake oil salesman (and, hence, the origin of the phrase).
Christ’s Crucifixion Isn’t Child Sacrifice
“In an age of political correctness, Christianity is a prime offender. It’s not only Scripture’s sexual ethics that get canceled. Even bedrock creeds like Christ’s crucifixion are on the chopping block.” That includes the idea that Jesus died as the penalty for our sins. This article tells why the atonement is not child sacrifice (as is so often charged).
Themelios 47.2
Those interested in some theological reading and book reviews may want to take a look at the new issue of Themelios. You can read it online or access it in PDF or Logos formats.
Flashback: He (and They) Must Not Be a Novice
Christian history proves repeatedly that giftedness makes a woeful substitute for character.

The Bible is more relevant than tomorrow’s newspaper, more reliable than tomorrow’s sunrise. —Steven Lawson

There’s yet another solid list of Kindle deals to explore today. We’re spoiled!

(Yesterday on the blog: If I Was the World’s Only Christian…)
Complementarianism, the regulative principle
I really appreciate much of what Stephen says here about the regulative principle, complementarianism, and our tendency to conflate elements and forms.
Songs of Suffering: A Short Film Featuring Joni Eareckson Tada
You may enjoy this short film fearing Joni Eareckson Tada.
Give Him Your Acorns
Brianna’s illustration is a really good one!
Bored with Christianity?
“I love starting new books: the new beginnings, the crisp pages, the fresh ideas that I cannot wait to dive into. There is something about the weight of a large tome which tempts me to tackle a big reading project. But as much as I love starting books like this, I do have a problem finishing them.” What is true of our reading can also be true of our faith.
Why Did My Life Have to Be Hard?
Mark Talbot: “If you were to ask me what I take to be among Scripture’s most comforting passages, my answer may surprise you: Psalm 90 and Ecclesiastes.”
Thoughts on Becoming a Pastor (Again)
Jared Wilson shares some thoughts on becoming a pastor (again).
Flashback: We Must, We Can, Bloom for Him
No matter what unfolds around us and no matter what is done to us, we are able to bloom for him—to display the truest love, the greatest gentleness, the highest reaches of Christian character.

The faith that fizzles at the finish was faulty at the first. —Adrian Rogers

Today’s post is written by Tim Chester and is sponsored by Christian Focus Publications. Tim is a senior faculty member of Crosslands Training and the author of over 40 books, including  Angels: When Heaven Meets Earth. He has a PhD in theology, a PgDip in history and 25 years’ experience of pastoral ministry.

“My grandma’s house is full of angels.”
I must have looked a somewhat quizzical, so she clarified: “Statues and pictures.”
“Is she a Christian?” I asked.
“Oh no. It’s angels that she’s into.”
“Does she believe in God?”
“I guess so.”
“Jesus?”
“Not really.”
“But angels …?”
“Oh yes. She’s really into angels.”
Perhaps you’ve had conversations like this. Perhaps you’ve seen angelic figurines or angel prayer cards in a neighbour’s home. There’s every chance your local bookshop has a section for accounts of angelic encounters. People are interested in angels.
My own hunch is that, in the midst of a scary world, angels offer a sense of other-worldly protection. We’ve lived for the past two years in a time when death has stalked unseen through the air around us – in the form of the coronavirus. So perhaps its unsurprising that many people long for an unseen protector to linger in the air around them. The big attraction of angels – or so it seems to many people – is that they offer this protection without the demands that organised religion is perceived to make. People want protection without obedience, comfort without allegiance.
Whatever the reasons, people are interested in angels.
Many of us have assumed we are living in a post-religious era where superstition has been replaced by science. The people of our day, we assume, are rationalists who value rational enquiry and empirical evidence. And they are materialists who believe the world we can see and touch – the world that science can investigate – is all there is. And we’ve prepped apologetic ammo accordingly. We know what to say when people question miracles or point to suffering. We can explain how science need be no enemy of faith.
This version of our times is true. But it’s only half the picture. There is another side to modernity. It’s a side populated by superstition, tarot, spiritualism, horoscopes, mediums – and angels. The supernatural is alive and kicking over on this side of modernity’s fence. And the people who live in this terrain are asking different apologetic questions that require different answers.
They want to know about angels. So what will we tell them?
In the past I’ve tended to steer clear of angels. Not in life, of course – I’m not sure what one might do to avoid an angel! No, I’ve avoided angels in conversations with unbelievers. It’s felt like too much of a weird place to start. I’ve assumed I was talking to rationalists and so angels would get the conversation off on the wrong foot. I’d rather get on to safer ground – like creation (lots of overlap with science), or sin (plenty of empirical evidence for that), or resurrection (a bit trickier, but a clear and central claim). By contrast angels are a bit spooky. In a rationalist’s mind they’re in the same category as ghosts. If I start here, I’ve assumed, then I’ll lose people straight away.
But it turns out that angels are a good place to start with many people. Nearly eight in ten Americans believe in angels. Even among those who never attend church it’s four out of ten.[1] In the United Kingdom one in three people believe they have a guardian angel.[2] Every tenth person in your street or workplace thinks they may have seen or heard an angel in some way.
Even among die-hard rationalists and materialists angels are a route into a conversation about heaven, souls, spiritual realities and eternity. It’s a short step from there to a conversation about the God who entered our world from outside at the incarnation. Life beyond physical matter and life after death go hand in hand.
So let’s talk about angels. But of course let’s not stop at angels. Perhaps the longest sustained passage in the Bible on angels is Hebrews 1. Here the writer repeatedly compares angels to Jesus, and every time Jesus is shown to be superior. Angels point us to Jesus. That’s their job. Indeed the word “angel” is actually a job title – the word means “messenger”. Angels are God’s messengers. Most famously they were the messengers who heralded the news of Christ’s coming on the first Christmas day. They filled the skies with the sound of song when Jesus was born. What is their message? The angel who appeared to the shepherds said:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
Their message is Jesus: a Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord.
The angelic host then sing: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” (Luke 1:14) “Peace on earth,” we often say, as if this was a lame exhortation to get on with one another. But this is peace from God coming to humanity. When we rejected God, we declared war on God. We made him our enemy. But now God has declared peace – peace through the mediation of the child in the manger who will became the Lord on the cross. The death and resurrection of Jesus are our only hope. This is want angels declare and this is what fills their songs.
So angels are a great starting point. But let’s makes sure the end point is Jesus.
Get your copy of Angels: When Heaven Meets Earth here.
[1] “Nearly 8 in 10 Americans Believe in Angels,” CBS News, 23 December 2011, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-nearly-8-in-10-americans-believe-in-angels/; accessed September 8, 2021.
[2] The Bible Society, “A Third of All Brits Believe in Guardian Angels,” 13 December 2016, https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/latest/news/a-third-of-all-brits-believe-in-guardian-angels/; accessed August 30, 2021.

If I was the world’s only Christian, I might easily lose confidence in my faith. Can it really be true if I am the only one who believes it? Similarly, if I was the only kind of Christian—if all the world’s Christians were the same age as me or the same race or the same nationality—I might also lose confidence. Can it really be true if only one demographic affirms it while the great majority reject it? Can it be the true faith if it is the faith of just one kind of person?

But I need not fear, for the wonderful fact is that the Christian church is as diverse as the world itself. And this is a source of deep blessing and a reason for great confidence.
I find it a tremendous encouragement to know there are some Christians who have towering intellects, who have grappled deeply with the evidences for the faith, and who have come to believe and embrace it all. I find it an equal encouragement to know there are some who have very simple intellects, who have little ability to grapple with even the least evidences for the faith, but who, in their simplicity, believe and embrace it just the same.
It blesses me to know there are some whose faith is well-established and mature, who have endured many trials and weathered many storms. Yet through it all, their love for God and their confidence in his purposes has remained fixed and constant—strengthened, even, through long perseverance. It blesses me equally to know there are some whose faith is young and fresh, who have only just turned away from a life of rebellion to submit to Christ’s rule—people whose hair is practically still wet from the water of their baptism. Their faith is as yet untested, but every bit as true.
It moves me to know there are some who grew up in a Western context, who were immersed in its worldview, yet who found it all unsatisfying—so very unsatisfying that they could be content only by embracing Christ. It moves me equally to know there are some who grew up in a non-Western context, who were immersed in worldviews that were completely different, yet who found those every bit as unsatisfying. Whether from West or East, North or South, here or there, they turned to the same Savior and were bound together in the same family.
It inspires me to know there are some Christians who bowed the knee to King Jesus when they were old, when they were approaching their final years or final days. After a lifetime of running away, they finally ran toward the lover of their souls. It inspires me equally to know there are some Christians who bowed the knee to King Jesus when they were young—too young to understand very much, but still old enough to express their childlike faith by submitting their lives to the Lord.
It gives me confidence to know there are some Christians who are fantastically wealthy and some who are extremely poor, but that both have entrusted themselves to the same Savior. It warms my heart to know there are some Christians who have received the finest education this world can offer and some who have received no formal education at all, but that both are children of the same Father. It brings great joy to know there are some Christians whose skin is the deepest of all hues and some whose is the lightest, yet that all are members of the same family.
If I was the world’s only Christian, or the world’s only kind of Christian, I would have good reason to question my faith and to doubt its validity. But it’s beautifully and wonderfully true that our God is the God of all kinds of people and that he is building a kingdom of young and old, great and poor, black and white, wise and simple, famous and unknown. He is building a kingdom that transcends all distinctions and all boundaries so together—from a multitude of people in a multitude of places and in a multitude of voices, we can bring praise to the one name that is above all names.

Good morning! Grace and peace to you on this fine day.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number of excellent titles from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: Prayer That Pleases God)
Luxury Beliefs
This is a very interesting article about “luxury beliefs.”
Not Now: The Surprising Joy of Waiting on the Lord
“As a society and culture we don’t like to wait. Like Ms. Salt, we want what we want, and we typically want it sooner rather than later. Yet, we miss surprising spiritual benefits and blessings when we fail to head God’s imperatives and call to wait on Him.”
God’s Gallery (Video)
“It has been said that ‘nature is the art of God.’ When looking at our planet from 200 miles above its surface, the truth of that observation comes into magnificent focus. This unforgettable video is a celebration of Earth’s natural beauty and the artistry of its Creator—as photographed by the astronauts of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.”
Reject the Algorithm
This one, which is not written from a Christian perspective, has some great things to say about rejecting the algorithm.
Twenty-Eight
I enjoyed this celebration of an anniversary. (Speaking of which, Aileen and I are celebrating our 24th today!)
The Distress and Delight of Preaching
“No preacher worth his weight enters the pulpit without some distress. There is a heaviness to delivering the word of God that is unlike anything else. Even if the preacher is naturally jovial, the man moved by the Spirit of God will tremble under the gravity of what he is doing.”
Flashback: Beware (and Embrace) the Power of Story
If we are going to respond well to the new cultural ethos, we need to know God’s Story—his plan for humanity, sexuality, and marriage. We need to be fully convinced about why it matters so much. We need to be willing to suffer loss to uphold it.

One of the great challenges for the Christian church is knowing the difference between a church and a crowd. —Albert Mohler

We pray. We pray because God tell us to. We pray because we need to. We pray because prayer matters. But do we pray with confidence that God is pleased with our praying? Do we pray with confidence that God is pleased with our praying even when he does not grant our petitions? Charles Spurgeon addresses those questions in this brief excerpt.

We have been pleading with God. Prayer after prayer has knocked at Heaven’s gate, entreating for the conversion of souls, and the upbuilding of the church.  I have no doubt that our prayer has been, in itself, acceptable with God, through Jesus Christ.
It is in itself a form of worship to which our gracious God hath much respect. The golden vials of the elders before the throne are said to be full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. Prayer is typified by sweet incense, because God delights in it. He loves to see our desires for the accomplishment of His purposes.
It is very pleasing to a father, as you who are parents can testify, to see his child in full sympathy with him, and anxious to help him in his work. Though he can do but little, and that little feebly and faultily, yet his eagerness to work with his father, and for his father, gives his father joy. Even thus does our Heavenly Father take pleasure in us, and in our desires for His glory.
“Thou didst well in that it was in thine heart,” said the Lord to David, even when He did not accept what David proposed to do; and I believe there may be glory brought to God, not only by those prayers which are manifestly answered, but by those which for wise reasons the good Lord is pleased to lay on one side. We are nothing better than children even in prayer, and therefore it is not every request that is wise; but yet we are children, and therefore the cries which come from our hearts touch the heart of our great Father in Heaven.
Our desires that souls may be saved, and that the church may prosper, are so much in accordance with the mind of God that they must be a sweet savour unto Him. Therefore, brethren, let us pray on as long as breath remains. If prayer pleaseth God, it should always please us.

Blessings to you as you work, serve, and/or worship this weekend.

Today’s Kindle deals include a few newer books as well as a few older ones.
(Yesterday on the blog: How to Read and Understand God’s Word)
Closeness Comes Through Fire: How Suffering Conforms Us to Christ
Ed Welch makes some helpful observations here about sanctification and suffering. (Though I’m not so sure about using both Ignatius of Loyola and Martin Luther as examples of the same virtue in the same article!)
Why Taiwan Loves This Canadian Missionary Dentist
With a title like that, I couldn’t help but read it. It’s a great account of a missionary that isn’t very well known outside Taiwan.
The New Public Liturgy
This is a fascinating “video essay” from Carl Trueman. (Note: There are one or two b-roll images in the early going to show just a little too much.)
Sin is Only as Hidden as God Allows
This is so important to keep in mind. “If we have been nursing secret sin and we have not been exposed, that is because up to this point, God has not decided to reveal it. Nothing we do is unknown to God, and in his omnipotence, he could expose us at any moment if he so chooses. Sin is only as hidden as God allows.”
Magnanimity and A Book Deal
“It’s been hard at times then, having been disciplined by God regarding these things, to know the difference between true humility and small-heartedness. Beset with self-doubts and fear of my own pride, and sometimes just in ignorance, I’m often slow to admit I have anything to offer. I want to grab a basket and put it over my lamp because it’s safer. This way I won’t make mistakes. Won’t sin. Won’t be tempted to boast. Won’t fail.”
Clarity from Schilder on “Paradox”
“Some theologians have a reputation for being consistently clear.  Klaas Schilder isn’t one of them.” Yet here’s one way in which he was very clear and very helpful.
Flashback: 7 Ways to Ruin a Prayer Meeting
Here are some ways you increase the likelihood that your prayer meeting will miss the mark.