The Lord bless you and keep you today.

Wordle and Our Longing for the Limited
Chris Martin reflects on an interesting cultural phenomenon: “The most consequential cultural phenomenon of this, the year of our Lord, 2022 is a once-a-day word game made by a computer coder for his significant other.”
Laughter 101: Why Humor Matters for the Christian Life
“How many philosophers does it take to explain a joke? Quite a few, as it turns out. And not only philosophers. Psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists have exerted themselves to explain exactly what makes people laugh. Although everybody understands intuitively what humor is, the concept of humor is still elusive, being difficult to define in a way that encompasses all of its facets.”
About Radius International Church-Planting Training
In this short video Brooks Buser, President of Radius International talks about church-planting training for missionary candidates going to unreached language groups. Learn how Radius can be a benefit to your church and mission candidates. (Sponsored Link)
Does the Woman Caught in Adultery Belong in the Bible?
“The story of the Woman Caught in Adultery (John 7:53–8:11) is arguably one of the most beloved Jesus stories in the New Testament … However, the story is missing from some ancient manuscripts of John, as noted already by early church fathers like Jerome and Augustine. For this and other reasons, a majority of modern scholars regard the passage as a later insertion, and some even want to remove it altogether from our Bibles.” Here’s one take on the passage…
Boycott China’s Winter Olympics? Many American Christians Agree
CT covers the issues of boycotting the Olympics because of China’s persecution of Christians, Uyghurs, and others.
I Was Patient Before Having Kids
Erik Raymond: “Recently a friend said, ‘I was much more patient before I had kids.’ Saying this tongue in cheek, he meant that he’s realized that since becoming a dad, he struggles with patience. Now we know that having children doesn’t evaporate the parent’s reservoir of patience they previously enjoyed. Instead, being a parent presents a new set of challenges that reveal a lack of patience that was already there.”
When Pressing “Unfollow” is Not an Option
“How does one navigate the complexities of the modern age? What do we do when an opposing point of view is not encountered on a screen, but rather, face-to-face? What do we do when a coworker disagrees with us on a matter we deem important? How do we interact with an instructor who promotes an idea different from our held beliefs?”
Flashback: God, Protect My Girls
One of my most common prayers for my girls is a prayer for their protection. Here is how I pray for God to protect them.

God is the best friend, but the worst enemy. If he can look men into their grave how far can he throw them? —Thomas Watson

May the God of love and peace be with you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include some books for adults and some of kids.
(Yesterday on the blog: Do You Knock at the Gates of the Grave?)
How and when was the canon of Scripture established, and by whom? (Video)
Stephen Nichols does a great job of describing how the canon of Scripture was established.
It’s February: Check on Your Single Friends
Lisa LaGeorge asks us to remember our single friends in February. “February breaks me a little, and I know I’m not the only one. If feels silly to even think about sometimes. The flowers don’t last, the chocolate is generally sub-par, and all my married friends roll their eyes about how overrated going out to dinner is. But there is still that thing about wanting to be wanted.”
Kevin DeYoung on “What is The Mission of The Church?” @ The Radius Missiology Conference
June 29-30, 2022 @ Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC. Kevin DeYoung will look at what is and is not the mission of the church. (Sponsored Link)
Burial is Hopeful
“A planter in a garden, with carefully labelled markers by each tiny seed so that the gardener would remember what eat seed was as it grew. When we bury our bodies we plant a seed in the ground, waiting for it to grow into an oak of righteousness in the new creation. We remind ourselves that what is now is brief, and what comes after is long and joyous. Burial is fundamentally hopeful.”
The Beijing Olympics: Pray for the Persecuted in China
Randy Alcorn sees the Olympics as an opportunity to remind us to pray for the persecuted Christians in China. He also discusses whether Christians should boycott the Olympics because of China’s persecution and other human rights abuses.
Freedom from the Tyranny of “Success”
Aaron Armstrong: “All of us have moments where we don’t respond to God’s blessings to others in the way we would want or expect, whether His blessings to an individual, to an organization, or a church. We start to play comparison games, even if only in our heads. We start to wonder why this person or that church is more successful than us.”
The Difference between the Apple and the Worm
Denny Burk helps us distinguish between the essence of a doctrine and its “accidents.” “As I have observed popular debates about complementarianism over the years, I have noticed how people often confuse what the doctrine is with other associations that have little or nothing to do with the teaching.”
Flashback: Travel Tips from a Journey Round the World
I spent a lot of last year traveling the world to carry out research for my forthcoming church history project–a project that took me to 24 countries across 6 continents. Now that the travel is winding down, I’m beginning to think about a few of the travel lessons I learned along the way. I decided to jot them down and share them in case they prove helpful to you next time you set out on a journey of your own.

Surely God will not wink at their sin who wink at his dishonor. —George Gillespie

There is a sense in which we are less familiar with death than our forebears, more insulated from its horrors. Of course the death rate in the twenty-first century is identical to every century before and every century to come—“it is appointed for [each and every] man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” So perhaps it is better to say we are less familiar with what we consider premature death—the death of infants, children, and young adults.

Because we are less familiar with death, we tend to prepare less for its inevitable encroachment. With the average lifespan now extending well past the promised threescore and ten, it is easy enough to set death alongside retirement, pensions, and inheritances as matters that should concern us sometime in the future, but certainly not right now.
But it was not always so and there are lessons we can and should learn from previous generations of Christians, for they had a heightened understanding of the importance of being ready. They had to. Like first responders, they had to be in a state of constant preparation, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Like servants, they had to be dressed and ready for the moment they were summoned into the presence of the king. They did not have the luxury of associating death with a life well-lived to a ripe old age. Death could come quickly and at any time. It commonly did.
In reading the Puritans and their successors, I’ve often come across a captivating little phrase: “knocking at the gates of the grave.” Jeremy Taylor wrote a whole book about Christian dying and said, “He that would die well must always look for death, every day knocking at the gates of the grave; and then the gates of the grave shall never prevail against him to do him mischief.” Theodore Cuyler sometimes recounted strolling through Greenwood cemetery where three of his children had been laid to rest—two as infants and one as a young adult—and using his time there to metaphorically knock at the gates of the grave, “to listen whether any painful echo comes back from within.”
We, too, should make it our habit to knock at the gates of the grave. To knock at the gates of the grave is to ponder the positive marks of grace that are associated with those who love the Lord and will depart this life to be with him forever. It is to ponder the marks of depravity and hypocrisy that are associated with those who hate the Lord and will depart this life to be separated from him forever. It is to heed the admonition of the Apostle who implored Christians to “examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
We knock when we pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24)! We knock when we cry to God, “Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness” (Psalm 26:2–3). We knock when we prepare to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and examine ourselves, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup (1 Corinthians 11:28). We knock when we consider whether our lives are increasingly marked by those precious evidences of God’s saving and sanctifying grace.
When we knock at the gates of the grave in these ways and many others, we meditatively listen to hear the distant echoes of the choir of angels or the distant echoes of the gavel of judgment. We knock and then listen for echoes that are encouraging or concerning, delightful or painful. We knock and listen so we are prepared for the day—the inevitable day—when the gates will open to receive us to new life or a second death, to the bliss of heaven or the horrors of hell. We knock to ensure we are waiting, to ensure we are ready, to ensure we will go to be with the Lord we love.

Good morning! Grace and peace to you.

(Yesterday on the blog: As if God Had Ever Made an Atlantic Wide Enough…)
An Open Letter to a Distressed Sufferer
Mike Emlet has an open letter to those who are suffering. “Dear friend, I have no definitive answer for why God has permitted this particular tsunami to flood your life. But while we can’t penetrate the mysteries of suffering, we can be sure of this: our gracious and strong Lifeguard will not let us be swept away.”
5 Christian Athletes to Watch in the Winter Olympics
Here’s a small roundup of some of the Christian athletes competing right now. “If you’re looking for athletes to root for, we recommend following these five Christian competitors—and also a specific way you can pray for each of them.”
Don’t Let Truth Become Cliche
This article warns us against allowing truth to become a cliche.
The Hazards of Second Language Sermons
A missionary humorously shares some of the hazards of preaching in a new language.
Innovation Exists by God’s Design
“Many of the sharpest Christians, who rightly celebrate God’s providential governance over all things, tend to wrongly assume (in practice) that his reign ends somewhere around the boundary lines of Silicon Valley.”
The Hope of Renewal for the Sexually Broken
Here’s a word from David Powlison–a word of hope for the sexually broken.
Flashback: It Takes Two
Gossip is not only a sin of the mouth, but also a sin of the ears. It takes two: the one who speaks and the one who listens.

No man can be severe in his judgment who feels that the mild eyes of Christ are fixed upon him. —Charles Hodge

As we go through times of suffering and sorrow, we inevitably come into contact with those who would seek to comfort us. Some offer true help and true hope while others, unfortunately, do not. In this short but sweet quote, Theodore Cuyler reflects on what we need most in our times of affliction.

There are some of us who have known what it is to drink bitter draughts of affliction, and to have the four corners of our house smitten by a terrible sorrow. At such times, how hollow and worthless were many of the stereotyped prescriptions for comfort!
“Time must do its work,” was one of them. As if time could bring back the dead, or cruelly eradicate the beloved image from the memory!
“Travel,” is another of these quack recommendations for a wounded spirit. Just as if God had ever made an Atlantic wide enough to carry us out of the reach of heart-breaking misery!
Wretched comforters are they all. The suffering heart heeds not the voice of such charmers, charm they never so wisely.
Never, never have I been able to gain one ray of genuine consolation until I lifted my eyes unto the hills from whence cometh the Almighty help. As soon as I have begun to taste of God’s exceeding great and precious promises my strength has begun to revive. As soon as His everlasting arm got hold around me the burden grew lighter,—yea, it carried me and the load likewise. God opened to me paths of usefulness which were in the line of His service, and also of blessings to my fellow-men. And so help flowed down to me from the hills like the streams that make music from the precipices to one who climbs the Wenzern Alp.

May God bless you as you serve and worship him this weekend.

My gratitude goes to Radius International for sponsoring the blog this week. Be sure to consider attending their upcoming Missiology Conference virtually or in-person. It includes Alistair Begg, Kevin DeYoung, and others.
Today’s Kindle deals include some newer and older titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: 50 Ethical Questions)
All This Wasted Worry
“I find it strange that I don’t have a problem trusting the Lord with my eternity, but I am loathe to trust him with my day.” You may identify with Glenna’s concern.
What do I do when I can’t seem to get over my grief?
This question is handled sensitively.
Six Things Lament is Not
And, somewhat related: “I want to clarify and develop what this practice is and what it is not. Lament is new for many people, including me, and this short post is intended to clear up confusion and reduce unhelpful caricatures.”
The Bible’s light-bulb hasn’t blown
“Sadly, it’s very easy for Christians to act as though the Bible’s light-bulb has blown! We can treat our Bibles like a faint LED that offers no real guidance for our complicated, advanced modern lives. Our lack of reference to the Bible suggests it emits no light. Our lack of engagement with the Bible suggests we don’t actually think there is a chapter and a verse to shed light on all my decision-making.”
Mind Inventory
“A helpful feature of smartphones is the Screentime notification which tracks the amount of time you spend on your phone and how that time is divided up among the various apps. … What if we had a ‘Mindtime’ app which sent a notification at the end of each week graphing out the various categories of thoughts which occupied our minds? What would it reveal?”
Jared Wilson on Thinking About the Sins of Our Church History Heroes
I’ve heard quite a few responses to questions about the sins of church history heroes, but few, if any, have been better than Jared Wilson’s.
Flashback: The Scariest Book I’ve Ever Read
These little temptations look so small and so harmless. They appear to offer something desirable at a negligible cost. But through Owen, I know better. They want to wreck me. They want my utter destruction.

We don’t have the right to cast off the fruit of the Spirit in the name of standing for truth. —Shai Linne

This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Radius International.  They are giving away a conference package that includes: 2 tickets, a Radius pullover, and 2 books.

The winner will receive two free tickets to the Radius Missiology Conference being held June 29-30, 2022, at Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, NC. This event will be live in person or available as a live stream. Kevin DeYoung, Alistair Begg, Ian Hamilton, Wayne Chen, Brooks Buser, Chad Vegas, and others from the Radius world will be live and in-person to teach on the Great Commission in today’s world with free books from 9Marks, Banner of Truth, and others.
The winner will receive a Radius International branded pullover. Size and gender options to be selected by the winner from available stock.
The winners will also receive two books that Radius International highly recommends:
No Shortcut to Success
A Manifesto for Modern Missions
By Matt Rhodes
Avoid “Get-Rich-Quick” Missions Strategies and Invest in Effective, Long-Term Ministry
Trendy new missions strategies are a dime a dozen, promising missionaries monumental results in record time. These strategies report explosive movements of people turning to Christ, but their claims are often dubious and they do little to ensure the health of believers or churches that remain. How can churches and missionaries address the urgent need to reach unreached people without falling for quick fixes?
In No Shortcut to Success, author and missionary Matt Rhodes implores Christians to stop chasing silver-bullet strategies and short-term missions, and instead embrace theologically robust and historically demonstrated methods of evangelism and discipleship—the same ones used by historic figures such as William Carey and Adoniram Judson. These great missionaries didn’t rush evangelism; they spent time studying Scripture, mastering foreign languages, and building long-term relationships. Rhodes explains that modern missionaries’ emphasis on minimal training and quick conversions can result in slipshod evangelism that harms the communities they intend to help. He also warns against underestimating the value of individual skill and effort—under the guise of “getting out of the Lord’s way”—and empowers Christians with practical, biblical steps to proactively engage unreached groups.
Missions By The Book
How Theology and Missions Walk Together
by Chad Vegas and Alex Kocman
Across the church, there is a rift between theology and missions. Bad theology produces bad missions, and bad missions fuel bad theology.
We wrongly think that we must choose between making a global impact and thinking deeply about the things of God. But the relationship between theology and missions is symbiotic—one cannot exist without the other. They walk hand-in-hand.
Enter Here
Again, there is one package to win. And all you need to do to enter the draw is to drop your name and email address in the form below.
Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes on Sunday, Feb 6th, 2022 at midnight.

These are confusing times, aren’t they? These are confusing times for those who wish to live according to God’s Word and unto God’s glory. There is a host of questions we need to wrestle with, a host of ethical dilemmas we need to consider.

Is abortion permissible? Is it permissible in cases of rape or incest? Is it permissible when a child has been diagnosed in utero with a developmental disability like Down syndrome? What about with a fatal condition like anencephaly? Or what about in cases when there is an ectopic pregnancy?
Is it okay for Christians to sign advance directives that would decline potentially life-saving medical treatment? Is it ever permissible to decline or to halt life support? Can a Christian who has a terminal condition and is in excruciating pain choose to hasten death through physician-assisted suicide?
Should a couple that becomes pregnant while dating get married? Is birth control ever acceptable for Christians? Can Christians use the birth control pill or does it potentially cause abortions? Is the “morning-after pill” a viable option for those who wish to prevent a pregnancy?
These are just a small number of the ethical issues that Christians may need to grapple with over the course of a lifetime. And while some of the answers may be obvious, others may present significant difficulties. This is especially true when ethical dilemmas arise not in the leisurely context of a college classroom but in the urgency of real life and ministry. “My daughter was sexually assaulted last night and asked me if she can take the morning-after pill. What do I tell her?” “My son has just gotten engaged to another man. Should I celebrate?” “The doctors say my husband is being kept alive only by life support. Is it okay if I end it?”
Such dilemmas are the subject of J. Alan Branch’s new book 50 Ethical Questions: Biblical Wisdom for Confusing Times. Each of the 50 questions receives a brief treatment of about four pages—not enough to answer it thoroughly, but enough to provide an overview of the issues and a reasonably solid answer. In each case he briefly defines the issue, suggests the relevant biblical ethical principles, and then offers a suggested moral stance. “This book is written for the Christian who attends church, loves the Lord, and believes the Bible,” he says. “I hope my discussion of these topics will give sincere followers of Christ a good starting point when thinking through very important issues.” And so this is not a survey of ethics as much as a basic guide to current quandaries.
I can see 50 Ethical Questions being helpful in a number of contexts. It can be read by the likes of you and me and equip us with a biblical perspective on contemporary issues. It might also prove a useful text for youth or young adult groups that want to come to firm convictions on ethical dilemmas. And then it may prove a useful resource for a pastor to keep handy so that in those times he is asked a difficult question, he can turn to the appropriate section and find at least a starting point for his answer. In these cases and others, those who read the book will find answers that are reasonable, helpful, and best of all, biblical.
(The paperback and Kindle editions are not yet linked. Click here for the Kindle edition and here for the paperback.)

Buy from Amazon

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Playboy Makes Perversion Woke
Carl Trueman has some insightful commentary about Playboy and Hugh Hefner. “it seems that Playboy is once again trying to clean up its image and, in the process, contradict its own reasons for existence. This time the move comes in advance of an A&E documentary series that will reveal in detail the perversions and sleaze of its founder, Hugh Hefner.”
Men and Women in Romans 16
Murray Campbell: “Romans 16 isn’t foremost about men and women, it’s about the Apostle Paul commending his ministry team to the church in Rome. It is a team that consists of many people from all kinds of walks of life. Among the number are many men and many women.”
Register Now for RMC22
The Radius Missiology Conference (RMC) is a unique time where the ideas, philosophies, and methodologies of historic and contemporary missions are discussed and taught on over a two-day conference. June 29-30, 2022, with Kevin DeYoung, Alistair Begg & others. (Sponsored Link)
You Might Be a Stingy Forgiver If…
Cindy Matson offers a few ways to know if you might just be a stingy forgiver.
Five Reasons for Wives to Lean In
“I met my future mother-in-law when I was barely 17 years old. Barb was warm and welcoming, and I instantly liked her. As a brand-new Christian, Barb was a mentor to me and someone I looked up to.” Stacy Reaoch gives some counsel to daughters-in-law.
Jesus is Here
Blake Long offers an encouraging reminder: “Jesus is here with us. He is not distant, far off, or lost. He is here and cares for us.”
Flashback: On Living in a Post-Christian Context
So I suppose this is a call for those of us in the West to take comfort and confidence in this: there are Christians who can assist us. There are believers elsewhere who can guide us into this territory that is foreign to us but familiar to them.

Christianity does not think of a man finally submitting to the power of God, it thinks of him as finally surrendering to the love of God. It is not that man’s will is crushed, but that man’s heart is broken. —William Barclay