Grace and peace to you on this fine day.

Westminster Books has a deal this week on Richard Gaffin’s magnum opus.
(Yesterday on the blog: One Way To Know You’re Being Persecuted)
The Lost Art of Courage
“There appears to be one of two extremes common among the people of God—the extremes of the lion. Either shrinking back when we ought not. Or viciously thundering forth when we ought not. It seems the church may need to regain the lost art of courage, for there are those who shy away from battles that must be taken up, and there are those who don bravado and (seemingly) do nothing but battle. What may be lacking in these two poles is the biblical concept of ‘meekness’—or courage, rightly carried.”
When the Going Gets Tough
“When faced with an option between two paths, one paved with more difficulty than the other, the choice is usually simple: take the easier path. But, the choices aren’t always straightforward.” Erik Raymond applies this to both pastors and church members.
How to get better sermons
Al Gooderham: “Sometimes pastors take themselves too seriously. Sometimes pastors can have a big ego. Sometimes pastors need bringing down a peg or too. Sometimes pastors seem to think we should hang on their every word, as if we’re blessed to have them open God’s word to us Sunday by Sunday. I’m pretty sure those pastors are out there but I wonder how many of them there are because I don’t know many (any?) like that.”
No Blood Money in the Temple Treasury
“Man’s ability for self-deception is astounding, and we get a glimpse of it in the chief priests who gave false counsel to have Jesus executed.” But if we look honestly, we may get a glimpse of it in ourselves as well.
A Strategic Retreat
“There’s a lot to see, above the screen. It is slower, and more subtle, but it is alive with beauty and meaning. And I want to see it, and have the mental space to recognise it for what it really is, and carrying social media around with me in my pocket everywhere didn’t help me do that.” Indeed…
Pastor, You’ll Burnout If Your Idea Of Hard Work Is Worldly
I found a number of thought-provoking applications in this article from TGC Africa: “We project the rhythms of 21st century routines onto the apostolic age. But our the pace and routines of life in the 21st century are entirely different from Paul’s and his friends.”
Flashback: Netflix’s Biggest Competition
It turns out that Netflix doesn’t actually consider Amazon (or HBO or Hulu or any other similar company) its true competition. Netflix’s main competitor is something far more elemental: sleep.

You can be sure of this: If God draws near to the shamed and outcast, he will meet you in the insecurities of daily life. —Ed Welch

One of the most intimidating things Jesus taught was that, as his followers, we should expect to be persecuted. And one of the most surprising things he taught was that, when we encounter such persecution, we should face it with joy. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:12). In Dustin Benge’s book The Loveliest Place, I read a brief explanation of what Jesus means by these words, and in that explanation an interesting application: True persecution will lead to true rejoicing. 

Benge says, “There is a paradoxical mystery within the words ‘Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.’ Rejoice while suffering? Be glad amid ridicule? How can this be? This mystery is unveiled in the depth of our unyielding assurance that being with Jesus in glory will far more than reward us for any suffering we have faced in this life.” This was what Paul meant to communicate to the church in Corinth when he wrote his famous words of assurance: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18).
It is our faith that sustains us in these times of persecution and our faith that gives us joy.

Our rejoicing and gladness proceed from faith in the unseen realm of eternity. The same faith that accepts Jesus Christ as Lord. The same faith that transforms us from one degree of glory to another. The same faith that stares our persecutors in the face and prays, “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.” These persecutions are “preparing for us” or “bringing about” an “eternal weight of glory.” The reward is out of this world, for Jesus is preparing it. To “be glad” is to enjoy a state of utter happiness and well-being. “Rejoice” is similar in meaning to being glad but is more intense. This denotes extreme gladness and extreme joy. Both these verbs in the Greek are present tense. Jesus is commanding his followers to be consistently and continually joyful and glad amid suffering and persecution.

We can rejoice even in terrible persecution because we have the faith to look ahead—to look ahead to see an eternity that, when compared to the minuscule amount of time we are called to suffer, is vast and boundless. We set our hearts and our hope on what is unseen yet completely certain.
Benge continues with an important application: “Jesus’s command to rejoice in the face of persecution leaves no room for the church to stagger into self-pity and dejection. Far too many of us are known more for our whining and complaining than for our rejoicing and gladness. Self-pity spoils the garments of Christ’s bride and defaces her beauty. The only acceptable responses to persecution are joy and celebration, with the firm assurance that our treasure resides in heaven, not in this temporal world.”
God never permits us to sink into self-pity or to shake our fists to the skies. He does not permit us to whine and complain when we face circumstances that have been decreed by his providence. Rather, he calls us to be joyful even in suffering. “Paul shows us that our joy, as believers yet in this world, is always mingled with sorrow. Believers should be ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing’ (2 Corinthians 6:10). We are sorrowful at the condition of the hearts of our persecutors while rejoicing that we are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”
Here is what I think we ought to consider: If we are experiencing some kind of trial, we may be able to judge whether we are being persecuted for our Christian faith by our response. If we respond to our trial with whining and griping, we are either facing persecution wrongly or perhaps not actually facing persecution at all. It could be that we are suffering the consequences of sin or being punished because of our rebellion against authority. It could be that we are provoking unbelievers to anger because of our poor behavior. It could be that God is chastising us for our unrepentant sin. It could be that we are not being persecuted at all.
However, if we experience hardship at the hands of men—suffering, trials, injustices—and find our hearts rejoicing rather than embittered, thankful rather than spiteful, satisfied rather than grumbly, we may well take this as evidence that we are suffering persecution and being filled with God’s Spirit to endure it well, to endure it for his glory. In that way, we can know we are being persecuted by our joyful response.

Good day my friends!

Elon Musk Bought Twitter: So What?
Chris Martin ponders Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter. “If you find yourself jumping for joy or drowning in tears amid Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, maybe you should be a bit more concerned about what this says about you than what Musk could mean for Twitter.”
Does God Change His Mind?
Does God change his mind? This article from Ligonier answers the question well.
We Are Still Young
I enjoyed this glimpse of a far-off part of the world. “Gornaya Maevka—Mountain Gathering—is a village neighboring the Tien Shan Mountains. It’s a space where snow almost blinds you and a lack of cars makes you feel deaf, a town far too disorienting for its modest size. It’s mostly made up of vacant summer homes, lined in such a way that only locals can really navigate it.”
At least I’m still good for something
This is a sweet meditation on usefulness in our final years.
Themelios 47.1
The latest issue of Themelios has 229 pages of editorials, articles, and book reviews for you to read for free.
“I’m So Sorry” — “Thank You”
Rebekah Matt writes about thank you notes, but about a lot more as well.
Flashback: The Hottest Thing at Church Today
As Christianity Today says, “Despite a new wave of contemporary church buzzwords like relational, relevant, and intentional, people who show up on Sundays are looking for the same thing that has long anchored most services: preaching centered on the Bible.” Praise God.

Sorrow and tears for sin are never right until they are like floods of water to drive us to Christ. —Christopher Love

The God of love and peace be with you today.

Westminster Books is doing some spring cleaning which means they have some really good deals for you.
There are a few more Kindle deals to consider today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Why Do Billionaires Want to Live Forever?)
What We Need is Power
Jared Wilson: “Should we go into God’s inerrant, infallible, inspired word looking only for things to do, we will come away with God’s good instructions for the good life but without the power to actually do them. The power to obey does not lie in the commandments. The power to get through the day does not come from the instructions on how to get through it. The power to glorify God is in the glorious gospel, which says not ‘Do’ but ‘Done!’”
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
“Some Christian circles assume that if a pastor or church is drawing in sinners, they must be compromising the message of the Bible. Maybe they’re seeker-sensitive, watering down the more offensive doctrines of Christianity. On the flip side, pastors who have a reputation for castigating sinners, faithfully exposing the sins of society, must be doing something right. But the truth is, neither approach captures the complexity of Christ’s gospel ministry.”
Why is it important to study the Christian creeds, confessions, and catechisms?
Steven Lawson, Derek Thomas, and W. Robert Godfrey all comment on creeds, confessions, and catechisms in this clip from a Ligonier conference. Also, good on Lawson for rattling off all the different headings of systematic theology.
You’re So Vain, You Probably Think This Post Is About You
This one may cause you to think and confess.
Is the Concept of a “Self-Authenticating” Bible a Modern Invention?
Michael Kruger discusses one important way we can know that certain books belong in the Bible. “Christian theologians—especially in the Reformed world—have long argued that there is a more foundational way we can know books are from God: the internal qualities of the books themselves.”
Keep It Simple
“What do you feel when someone asks you to disciple them? I imagine you’re excited because a hungry, likely younger Christian, wants to grow. I imagine there’s probably also stress because you don’t know where to begin. A wealth of good resources is at your fingertips, but that can make things more complicated. So where do you start?”
Flashback: Being the Answer to Prayer
If we pray that God will comfort those who have endured a great loss, we ourselves should be eager and willing to be used as the means of comfort, to be the ones God uses to weep with those who weep, to bear another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ. Pray and then act to see the prayer answered.

In many homes the sorrow over the living is greater far than that for the dead who have passed to sweet rest. —J.R. Miller

Why is it that billionaires always seem to want to live forever? Why is it that the 1% of the 1% almost always seem to veer from their core businesses into attempts to prolong their lives indefinitely? Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is invested in Altos Labs which is attempting a kind of “biological reprogramming” to extend lifespans. Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page were instrumental in launching a business called “Calico” which is carrying out studies that may eradicate all disease. PayPal’s Peter Thiel is a big supporter of the Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation which means to dramatically improve health and longevity. Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin has decided it’s likely that people born today will live to the age of 3,000 and is already participating in experimental treatments he believes may slow his body’s aging.1

Why is it that so many billionaires seem so intent on extending their lives beyond the promised threescore and ten? Could it be that all their wealth has made their lives so amazing that they simply can’t bear the thought of dying? Could it be that their massive yachts, their luxury mansions, their ability to buy anything their hearts desire, has given them such satisfaction that they want to enjoy it forever? Could it be that they have unlocked the key to a satisfaction so deep that it’s only right to extend it indefinitely?
I suppose it’s possible, but I tend to think there’s another factor at play. I, after all, have read Solomon, the ancient-day equivalent of these modern-day billionaires—a man who had everything the human heart could ever desire. I have read his Song and his Proverbs and his Ecclesiastes. And from his inspired words I have gained some important perspective.
Why is it that billionaires always seem to want to live forever? I am convinced it isn’t because their lives are so satisfying but because their lives are so very dissatisfying. I am convinced it isn’t because their hearts are so full but because their hearts are so very empty. In 40 or 50 years they have risen to the highest ranks of humanity when measured by wealth, but have found there are some things money cannot buy.
They have attempted to leverage their money and power to increase their happiness. Women have been used and found wanting. The finest real estate has been added to their personal portfolio, but an extra 10 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms has not satisfied the restlessness of their hearts. They’ve owned fast cars and grand yachts, hobnobbed with royalty and celebrity, been cheered for their philanthropy and lauded for their generosity. And yet as they lay awake in the dark watches of the night, their hearts are still not at rest. As they stare at the vaulted ceilings high above their beds they still wonder “isn’t there more than this?”
They, like us, consider near escapes from deadly accidents or skirmishes with serious illnesses and know it could have all come crashing down. They, like us, hear the ticking of the clock that signals the end. And how do they respond? They respond by doubling down. They want more time to search for anything that will satisfy the longing of their hearts—more money, more women, more cars, more mansions, more plaudits, more power. More, more, more. And to explore that, they need more time, more years, more longevity.
The difference between them and Solomon is simply one of honesty. Solomon had experienced the very heights of what the world can offer and, rather than doubling down, had the integrity to say “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” He had the insight to say “All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” He had the understanding, after accumulating all the treasures of the ancient world, to say “Behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
Solomon was a man who had deep passions, a restless heart, and many serious flaws. Yet he had the wisdom to know that God has put eternity into our hearts so that nothing less than what is eternal can ultimately satisfy. He had the wisdom to turn his heart from the temporal to the eternal, from what he could hold in his hands to what he could take only by faith. He had the wisdom to embrace rather than deny or flee his own mortality, the wisdom to know that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments, the wisdom to live with the knowledge that God would judge his every deed, whether good or evil.
I have often been struck that while here on earth we count gold as the most precious of possessions, in heaven it’s used to merely pave the streets. What we count supremely valuable here is trod underfoot there. That description at once highlights the splendor of heaven and the futility of wealth. It at once shows that all the wealth of all the worlds would do nothing to make heaven any better for the wealthy than for the impoverished, for the richest billionaire than the poorest pauper.
So many of the world’s wealthiest people live their lives to accumulate what heaven counts as meaningless. They put their hope in finding joy in what they can take and earn, what they can have and hold. Yet, even if they manage to extend their lives a few years or a few decades they, too, will go the way of all the earth. They, too, will live forever, though only beyond the grave. They, too, will find that the greatest pleasures of this world pale in comparison to the greatest pleasures, or greatest torments, of the world to come.

Today’s Kindle deals include six titles that may be worth a quick click-through.

Westminster Books has the new ESV Archaeology Study Bible at a great discount.
(Yesterday on the blog: Why John Piper’s “Shells” Illustration Transformed a Generation)
Conference Callings
Jamie Dean writes, “Beyond the conference halls, I’d submit the most important gathering for Christians is far more modest and far more meaningful over a longer period of time. It’s your Sunday worship gatherings.” Yes! Conferences are wonderful, but they are not the main thing…
Why Jake Locker Walked Away From Football—and Why He Doesn’t Miss It
It is rare to find a professional athlete who decides to put faith and family before his sport. This is a great profile of one who did: Jake Locker.
Heaven Would Be Hell Without God
“Numerous people claim to have gone to heaven and seen loved ones and even Jesus, yet almost never do they react as the beloved disciple, the apostle John, did: ‘When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead’ (Revelation 1:17). Surely no one who had actually been in heaven would neglect to mention what Scripture shows is its main focus. If you had spent an evening dining with a king, you wouldn’t just talk about the place settings.”
Why Deprived Communities Need More Than a Social Gospel
“The main issue with the social gospel is that it doesn’t save anybody. Nobody is ushered into the kingdom because we put on some nice social services for them. Nobody came to Christ because we were really nice to them without bothering to share the gospel with them. Any social work we might do is only of any value if we actually use it as a vehicle for sharing the gospel.”
Five Reasons Why Pope Francis’ Answer Was Demonic
Jordan Standridge walks us through Pope Francis’s abhorrent statement to a young boy.
The United Church of Canada: What You Need to Know
I really enjoyed this profile of the United Church of Canada, a denomination that has been one of Canada’s most influential and, sadly, most liberal.
False Teaching Out There and In Here
“We need to take heed to ourselves and our teaching even as we seek to protect God’s people from errors.”
Flashback: 8 Sins You Commit Whenever You Look At Porn
It is sinful to lust after another person and to enable this lust through pornography. Yet the sin bound up in pornography goes far deeper than mere lust. It extends to idolatry, adultery, deceit, theft, greed, sloth, sexual violence, and ignoring the Holy Spirit.

The older you grow, and the more you see, the less reason you find for being proud. Ignorance and inexperience are the pedestal of pride. —J.C. Ryle

Grace and peace to you.

Today’s Kindle deals include an interesting title by Collin Hansen and Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra.
(Yesterday on the blog: Deconstruction, Exvangelicals, and Jumping Overboard from an Ocean Liner)
Should Christians Always Submit to the Government?
Robert W. Yarbrough comments on Romans 13 and whether Christians should always submit to the government.
We have to work in the confines of reality
“Jesus has not called us to shepherd churches other than the ones he has given us. He doesn’t ask us to think about all the great things we would do for him if everything was different. He calls us to faithfully serve him, and the people he has given us to care for, where we are, within all the realities of our context.”
Changing Who We Spend Time with as We Get Older
There are some interesting visualizations here about who we spend time with as we get older. This data can be helpful as we seek to prepare ourselves for the years ahead and as we serve people in our churches.
Who Are the True People of God?
Here’s a covenantal perspective on the question, “Who are the true people of God?”
John and Amy’s Kitchen Table (and what it says about worship)
“It was one of those serendipitous moments. There, advertised on the Facebook page of a friend from my old days at Fremantle Assemblies of God church in the mid 1980s, was the kitchen table and chair set we had been looking for. My friend was married to another friend from my even older days at Attadale Baptist Church in the late 1970s. This just had to be!”
The Bible’s Strange Reasons for Generosity
John Beeson: “We tend to think about stewardship and generosity as something God calls us to once we’ve got it all together. But that’s not how Paul thinks about generosity. Paul invites the spiritually immature into generosity. Generosity is for everyone. Paul wants us all to experience the blessing of the grace that is generosity. He urges this church to step into God’s grace in this way.”
Flashback: Why Christians Blogs Aren’t What They Used To Be
Today fewer people are beginning blogs in the first place and more are abandoning the ones they began in the past. A recent check of my favorite sites found almost 30 that have gone dormant in the past few months. What’s happened?

Soldiers have never been so admired for their victories as the saints have been for their sufferings. —Thomas Watson

We hear a lot about “deconstruction” these days and a lot about “exvangelicals.” And though the terms may be new, the reality is as old as the church itself—some will profess faith for a time and then fall away. There was a time when Christians referred to such people as “infidels,” those who had come to reject the faith they once professed. In my ongoing reading of the sermons of De Witt Talmage, I came across some of his writings on infidelity and found them as appropriate to our day as they were to his. I thought I’d share a few choice snippets.

In this first one he explains why infidelity attracts so much attention.

I know infidelity makes a good deal of talk in our day. One infidel can make great excitement, but I will tell you on what principle it is. It is on the principle that if a man jumps overboard from an ocean-liner he makes more excitement than all the five hundred who stay on the deck. But the fact that he jumps overboard does not stop the ship. Does that wreck the five hundred passengers? It makes great excitement when a man jumps from the lecturing platform or from the pulpit into infidelity; but does that keep the Bible or the Church from carrying millions of passengers to the shores of safety?

Then he shows how those who reject the faith invariably leave nothing better or more hopeful in its wake:

These infidel advocates demonstrate the meanness of infidelity, by trying to substitute for the chief consolation of the world absolutely nothing. You have only to hear them at the edge of the grave, or at the edge of the coffin, discoursing, to find out that there is no comfort in infidelity. There is more good cheer in the hooting of an owl at midnight than in their discourses at the verge of the grave. You might as well ask the spirit of eternal darkness to discourse on the brightness of everlasting day.
…
They despise what they call the apostolic creed; but if their own creed were written out it would read like this: “I believe in nothing, the maker of heaven and earth, and in nothing which it hath sent, which nothing was born of nothing, and which nothing was dead and buried and descended into nothing, and arose from nothing, and ascended to nothing, and now sitteth at the right hand of nothing, from which it will come to judge nothing. I believe in the holy agnostic church and in the communion of nothingarians, and in the forgiveness of nothing, and the resurrection of nothing, and in the life that never shall be. Amen!”

And here is one final snippet in which he demonstrates the true horror of those who seek to draw others away from what God has revealed to be true:

You know what caused the accident some years ago on the Hudson River Railroad. It was an intoxicated man who for a joke pulled the string of the air brake and stopped the train at the most dangerous point of the journey. But the lightning express train, not knowing there was any impediment in the way, came down crushing out of the mangled victims the immortal souls that went speeding instantly to God and judgment. It was only a joke. He thought it would be such fun to stop the train. He stopped it! And so these infidel champions are chiefly anxious to stop the long train of the Bible, and the long train of the churches, and the long train of Christian influences, while coming down upon us are death, judgment, and eternity, coming a thousand miles a minute, coming with more force than all the avalanches that every slipped from the Alps, coming with more strength than all the lightning express trains that ever whistled, or shrieked, or thundered across the continent.

My gratitude goes to TGC for sponsoring the blog this week with news of their upcoming Good Faith Debates.

Today’s Kindle deals include some classics and some newer works.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Loveliest Place)
Inviting God into the Hard Places
When we face difficulties we always long for deliverance. But “what if—rather than deliverance from the hard—he wants you to invite him into it? What if he wants you to seek his presence in the hard, more than his protection from the hard? His provision in the midst of life’s hardships, rather than relief from them?”
If God Really Loved Me, He Would…
This one is on a similar theme: “Why are we surprised when trials come? Why do we do quickly question God’s goodness, love, and control when we experience the pain of this world? For me, I think it’s because there is a pervasive belief that subtly infiltrates my thought life. One that, deep down, still believes God would keep me from harm and rescue me from pain if he truly loved me.”
How Russian Christians View the ‘Special Military Operation’ in Ukraine
CT tries to get to the bottom of a question many of us have been wondering: How do Russian Christians view the “special military operation” in Ukraine? The answer, not surprisingly, is complicated.
A question of responsibility
Meanwhile, Andrée Seu Peterson considers the matter of responsibility. “The question of causality is the quiet backdrop of the nightmare that is Ukraine. As an American eavesdropping on the current French presidential elections, I heard one candidate try to thread the needle by saying Putin is culpable but that the West is responsible for cornering him by trying to put NATO on his doorstep—for essentially ‘poking the Bear.’ This is more than I am qualified to comment on. Nevertheless, I got to pondering the Word of God on questions of causality and responsibility.”
Jesus Versus the Trade-In Society
“We are a trade-in society, where the promise of being able to eventually replace anything, or anyone, lies underneath all of our experiences, even our spiritual lives.” This has wide-ranging consequences.
Hope for the Doubting Thomases of the World
“While the rest of the disciples went about rejoicing, Thomas wasn’t ready to celebrate just yet. His logical side needed time to line up with his emotional one. The proof of his devotion was in the profoundness of his despair. ”
Flashback: Young People and the Hundred Pushup Challenge of Life
It’s wrong of me to make light of their little sorrows by comparing them to their future greater sorrows. It’s right of me to support them as they build the strength and endurance that will carry them into and through the trials to come.

The cross of Jesus Christ shall be our ladder by which we shall climb up to heaven. —Simeon Ashe