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.)

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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

Good morning! Grace and peace to you.

(Yesterday on the blog: Our Hearts and Minds Turned Outward)
What Is Dispensationalism?
This is a helpful little introduction to dispensationalism courtesy of Keith Mathison. “Dispensationalist theology is perhaps best known for its distinctive eschatological doctrines, particularly the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. According to this doctrine…”
Every Corner Is Crowded
Isn’t this an interesting thought: “Can you imagine knowing the true and full history of even one single spot on this wide world of ours?”
Who Got it Wrong? Was There One Or Two Demoniacs Delivered?
George Sinclair: “The average Canadian does not read the Bible often—if at all. But they do know what ‘everyone knows’ that the Bible is full of contradictions. To many Canadians, this is one of several reasons why you should not take the Bible seriously.”
Defending without Becoming Defensive
“There is a difference between winning an argument and winning a person.” STR offers some tips on defending the faith without becoming defensive (or offensive, for that).
How to Spot Political Manipulation and Give It No Quarter
Bruce Ashford: “In the political sphere, manipulation seems to be the soup du jour. One might even conclude that some political leaders have elevated the logical fallacy to the level of their own literary genre. Thus, it is important for us to be aware of the ways in which our hearts and minds can be ‘stolen’ by political manipulation. Here are twelve of the most common distortion techniques used by political leaders:”
The Rise of the Preacher-Influencer
To be honest, there isn’t a ton that’s original or of particular value in this article. However, I do think the idea of “preacher-influencer” is a valuable one to consider. “It was meant to be a sermon on the importance of having faith in God’s vision, even when that task seems difficult. An object lesson from the book of Mark, in which Jesus heals a blind man by spitting on his eyes. But it’s how Pastor Michael Todd brought this message home that made the sermon unforgettable…”
Flashback: Learn the Lesson of Aaron’s Oily Beard
I’ve always wondered, what does Aaron’s oily head, oily beard, and oily clothing have to do with unity? It’s probably not the metaphor I would turn to—in fact, it’s kind of repulsive to me—, yet it’s the one David used. Why?

Those who understand God’s sovereignty have joy even in the midst of suffering, a joy reflected on their very faces, for they see that their suffering is not without purpose. —R.C. Sproul

Every coin has a head behind a tail, every die a 6 behind a 1, every stamp a sticker behind a face. And in much the same way, every technology has a virtue behind a vice, a benefit behind a drawback, something beneficial behind something sorely detrimental. The television that supplies important news also promotes vile entertainment, the engine that provides propulsion also produces pollution, the nuclear fission that powers a city also risks destroying that city. Such is life and tech in a world marred by sin.

And in just that way, social media can be used for such good and such ill. It can display human beings at their best and worst, their most gracious and most condescending, their most humble and most prideful. The greater part of the blame lies not with the technology itself, but with those who use it, for social media does little more than display who we really are and repeat what we really believe. It is our hearts and minds turned outward in snippets of text, bursts of video, carefully filtered photographs.
Yet we should be careful not to overly-simplify, for social media has been deliberately designed to take advantage of our weaknesses more than our strengths, to reward pride more than humility. It fosters quick skimming more than deep reading, impulsiveness more than thoughtfulness, indignation more than wisdom. Solomon asks, “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” But Facebook prompts every user at every moment, “What’s on your mind?” Solomon warns that “when words are many, transgression is not lacking”, but Twitter suggests at all times and in all occasions, “Tweet your reply.” He says, “The wise will inherit honor,” but on most social media platforms it is the boastful and combatant, the ungracious and lascivious who are seen and heard, who are honored and followed. The one who rules his spirit may be better than he who takes a city, but vice so easily becomes virtue on platforms that reward outrage more than self-control, harshness more than kindness, arrogance more than meekness.
Twitter and Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, a host of lesser and still-to-be-invented technologies—each provides an ideal mechanism for platform-building and self-aggrandizement, for promoting self while disparaging others, for displaying all manner of haughtiness and every kind of foolishness. But though we so easily see the drawbacks of these new technologies, they do still have many benefits. None are so far beyond redemption that they cannot be used in ways that will bless others and glorify God. Behind all the vices are many genuine virtues, for through social media we can say words that dry crying eyes, we can share quotes that raise drooping hands, we can upload videos that strengthen weakened knees. We can graciously engage with the lost and the hurting, we can gently challenge the straying and the wayward, we can carefully shore up the uncertain and the untrained. We can be present and active in these forums where people are taught, where ideas are discussed, where the great concerns of our age are debated. We can be where the people of this world gather so we can speak God’s truth with our mouths while displaying God’s love in our lives.
However, if we want to be humble through social media we will need to be humble before social media. We will need to be aware of its embedded ideologies, aware of the many ways in which it rewards what God despises, aware of its many temptations to promote folly ahead of wisdom. We will need to approach it cautiously, prayerfully, and ever-so-humbly.
There is no time in human history in which it has been easy to display humility and no time in which it has been difficult to display pride. The challenge of social media is new only in the speed through which we can display such folly and only in the extent of the damage we can do through it. Social media has not created pride, but only created new avenues to express it. Yet the God who opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble certainly delights to grant us the humility we lack so we can be light when surrounded by darkness, so we can redeem what has been broken, so we can take advantage of every opportunity to profess the great truths of our great God.

This article was originally published in the January 2022 edition of Tabletalk magazine.

May the Lord bless you and keep you today.

Logos users will want to look at the free and nearly-free books of the month. Also, this month Logos is featuring deals on resource by Eerdmans which includes the amazing NICOT/NICNT and Pillar commentary series.
Today’s Kindle deals include quite a long list of deals from Eerdmans.
The Case for Rearranging the Old Testament Books
It’s interesting to consider that, while the books of the Bible are inerrant, their ordering is not. “The ordering of the books in our English Bible is standard, if not universal―seemingly set in stone, even. But that order actually embodies a break with the wisdom and practice that came before. For many years, the Old Testament was read in a different order.”
Ways to Disagree Without Tearing Each Other Down
Barbara Harper says “I’m no expert, but after 47 or so years of being a Christian and reading God’s word, 40+ years of marriage, and more than that of living and interacting with people, I’ve learned a few things that I’d like to pass along.” A few things, that is, about disagreeing with others without tearing them down.
Is There Such a Thing as Bad Missions?
One of the implicit assumptions that seems to be prevalent in our time is that there is no such thing as “Bad Missions”. As long as the intentions of the missionary are pure and the goal of the church sending them out is Biblical, then there are no grounds to question what is done overseas. But how do pastors evaluate what is good missions, especially when it comes to long-term, church-planting missions? (Sponsored Link)
Jordan Peterson, Kanye West and the homeless man across the street
“Why do we want famous people to be saved?” Jordan Standridge considers the question in light of Jordan Peterson and Kanye West.
Purity: How Artificial Intelligence Impacts Radical Amputation
This is an interesting look at the ways AI (and, more generally, modern technology) impacts the kind of radical amputation Jesus calls for as we battle against sin.
This Is Sacred Space. Please Turn Off Your Phones.
Also on the subject of technology, Trevin Wax calls for Christians to turn off their phones in church (and not just to prevent them from annoying us all with their ringtones).
What Happens When a Believer Dies?
Randy Alcorn considers what happens in the moment a Christian dies.
Flashback: How Much Entertainment Is Too Much?
While we may take a rest from work, we must never take a rest from holiness. What we watch or read or play must further our walk, not hinder it.

I would rather play with the forked lightning, or take in my hands living wires with their fiery current, than speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ. —A. B. Simpson

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

There’s a nice list of Kindle deals to begin the new month.
(Yesterday on the blog: My Favorite Family Memory)
What changes us as we read the Bible? Is it Scripture or the Holy Spirit?
Several of the Ligonier teaching fellows team up to provide a solid answer to this question.
Never Underestimate the Value of Ordinary, Brief, Christian Conversations
Just like the title says, you should learn not to underestimate the value of even very ordinary and brief conversations.
Join Alistair Begg, Kevin DeYoung & Others @ The Radius Missiology Conference
June 29-30, 2022 @ Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC. RMC is for pastors, aspiring missionaries, and anyone interested in biblical missiology. (Sponsored Link)
The Downside of Your Bible-Saturated Newsfeeds
“The amount of information that is not only available to us but that pings for our attention is enormous. In one sense, of course, it’s an incredible blessing. We’ve come a long way from the church in the second and third centuries where so many members could not own, let alone read, a copy of the Scriptures. Now, Bible commentaries flood in through radio, internet, podcasts, and television.” But…
The Act of Listening and Two Reasons Why It’s Important
“Patient after patient, you assess, diligently and purposefully. If you have eight patients per shift, and three shifts a week, that’s almost a hundred times a month you’re listening. Many of your patients will have normal sounding hearts and lungs, but as the months go on, you move from a fledgling ability to increasingly catch the differences.”
How to Spot Media Manipulation and Block its Effects
“There are two sides to every news story. The one that your favorite media outlet prefers, and the other side, which is the one that they will mislead you about. Or, so it often turns out. This is unfortunate. Media institutions play an outsized role in the life and health of communities and nations, and their abandonment of ethical principles causes untold harm.” With that, Bruce Ashford takes a look at media manipulation.
Winter Light
This is a wonderful bit of writing from Andrea.
Flashback: One Of The Ugliest Sights In The World
We have seen parents who tiptoe around their child’s cries, their child’s demands, their child’s outbursts of anger. They will do whatever he dictates, give whatever he commands. We look on with horror, knowing they have set their child on a path to destruction.

The best sermon ever preached is a holy life. The best music ever chanted is a consistent walk. If you want others to serve God, serve him yourself. —DeWitt Talmage

The Challies family is not what it used to be. It is not what it used to be because we have experienced some profound changes over the past few years. Most of these changes have been normal and good—children going to college, children getting engaged, children moving out—, while one has been unexpected and grievous—a child going to heaven. Between them, these changes have left life and family very different than it was before.

I don’t know what aging parents tend to think of when they ponder the halcyon days of yore. I don’t know what period of life they remember, what memories come to their minds, as they consider “the good old days.” Do they remember the times when their children were tiny? Do they remember the times when their children had children of their own? What memory brings them the greatest joy, the sweetest delight? Whatever it is, I am certain it must be a memory in which the entire family is intact, all gathered and present together.
My family has by no means finished making memories. I have every confidence that we will continue to make good memories well into the future. I have every confidence I will soon have many new memories to recount and enjoy. Yet I also know the only memories of the whole family are ones set in the past, ones from before November 2020.
I often find my mind drifting back to grab hold of some of these memories, and have found a number of candidates for the best of them all. I love some we made during family vacations, when we explored other provinces and traveled through foreign countries—walking the red-sand beaches of Prince Edward Island, ascending the towering mountains of British Columbia, navigating the cobbled streets of Edinburgh. I love some we made during holidays, when we sat around the Christmas tree and watched the kids laugh and squeal with excitement. I love some we made on quiet winter evenings, gathered around the fire to read wonderful books—The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Anne of Green Gables, The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be, Little House on the Prairie.
But there is one I love more than any other. It’s one I navigate almost like a 3-D rendering, zooming closer and farther, approaching from this angle and that, watching every movement and listening to every word. We are seated around the table, each of us in our usual place. Aileen is beside me and the three kids across from me—Michaela to the left, Abby in the middle, Nick to the right. We have just finished dinner and the table is cluttered with plates, glasses, and cutlery. I have cleared a space where I have opened our big leather-bound ESV Study Bible. And together we are doing the simplest and normalest of things—we are reading and praying.
Many of my best memories are of events that happened one time or perhaps a few times. But my favorite of all is an event that happened day after day and year after year. A skilled artist can take a thousand photographs and collate them to make a single image, and in much that way, I see a single memory that is probably a collage of a thousand. I have no sweeter memory than the family gathered before the Lord, the family gathered to hear from him and speak to him together. I have no sweeter memory than of our family devotions.
In my memory I read a few verses of one of those narrative passages of the Bible that were our focus over the years and that we came back to again and again. Then I pause to ask a couple of questions and offer some brief commentary that helps apply what we’ve heard. I ask the kids how I can pray for them, and then pray briefly but sincerely. And then we are done—done for another day, done for another iteration.
I think this must be my favorite memory because it represents our most established family tradition and most repeated family ritual. We committed to it when the children were young and stuck with it all the way through raising them. We continue to emphasize it to this day. It’s a symbol of our shared commitment to the Lord, of what we count as the highest priority.
But I think it’s also my favorite because I am certain the Lord used our family devotions as one of the means through which he drew our children to himself. I can think of no single evening that was particularly significant in this regard or one that stands far above the others. The significance was in the repetition, in the commitment, in the way it demonstrated that the deepest way we could be bound together was not through a common surname or through common DNA, but through a common Savior.
And God, by his grace, called each of our kids to himself. He opened their eyes to see him, he opened their minds to know him, he opened their hearts to love him. He may not have done this precisely through family devotions, but I’m certain he didn’t do it apart from it, either. And in that way, this memory points forward—forward to the day when we will be reunited and whole, forward to the day when we will begin to make new memories, forward to the day when we will once again gather to worship the God who saved us, the God who made us not only part of our family, but part of his.

Good morning! Grace and peace to you.

(Yesterday on the blog: God Is At Work, Even When All Seems Still)
Good fear, bad fear
Andrée Seu Peterson considers various kinds of fear, both good and bad.
Pronouns for God
“One of my regular complaints is that Western theologians behave as though they are the ones who determine what is and what is not correct for the rest of the world.” In this article, Eddie looks at some discussions of pronouns and shows that we may be too hasty in the way we speak about them. After all, not all languages work like English.
Zwingli: God’s Armed Prophet
I really enjoyed this interview with Bruce Gordon as he discusses Huldrych Zwingli.
Leadership in Civil War, Treason, Hypocrisy, and the Burden of History
Similarly, I really enjoyed this discussion between Al Mohler and Allen Guelzo as they discuss Robert E. Lee. The best part may come right at the very end.
Cannabis is in the Bible: Debunking an Interpretative Myth
“‘The Bible includes cannabis as part of the worship of Yahweh!’ Marijuana advocates often repeat this claim in an effort to gain leverage for the moral permissibility of smoking pot. The claim is so strange and peculiar, pastors, church leaders, and parents can be caught off guard and find themselves ill-prepared to answer this bit of cannabis urban legend. Does the Bible mention cannabis as part of worshipping the LORD?”
10 Passages to Read with Someone Who Is Near Death
This is one that is probably worthy of a bookmark since, sooner or later, you’ll likely have opportunity.

God’s house is a hive for workers, not a nest for drones. —Charles Spurgeon

I have been making my way through the works of F.B. Meyer and came across a passage I found both intriguing and encouraging. Though I found it in one of his weaker books, I consider it one of his stronger excerpts. Meyer is discussing the wonderful truths of Romans 8:28, that God is working all things for good. The purpose in his words is to assure Christians that God is working all things for good, even in times of relative stillness.

However stationary the stars appear to be in the blue heavens, we know that they are really sailing onward, with great velocity, in their destined courses. The ocean may seem to sleep at our feet, but in reality it is in a state of incessant activity; its tides and currents perpetually passing to and fro on their appointed ministries. There is not a silent nook within the deepest forest glade, which is not the scene of marvellous activity, though detected only by the educated sense of the naturalist.
So there are times when our lives lack variety and incident. The stream creeps sluggishly through the level plain. Monotony, common-place, dull routine, characterize our daily course. We are disposed to think that we are making no progress; learning no fresh lessons; standing still as the sun over Gibeon; or going back as the shadow on the dial of Ahaz.
The child gets impatient, because every day it has to play the same scales. Then love steps in, and sees that God is busily at work, maturing His designs, and leading the life forward, though insensibly, into regions of experience, which surpass all thought. The day is breaking; the ice is giving; the picture is advancing; things are moving. God is working all things after the counsel of His own will.