My gratitude goes to Moody Publishers who sponsored the blog this week to ensure you know about Overflowing Mercies by Craig Allen Cooper, a book that opens readers to the beautiful, merciful heart of our triune God.
There are a few new Kindle deals today.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Watchmaker’s Daughter)

This is a bit of a longer article, but a good one. Plus, it’s Saturday—a good day for a longform read. In it, Jason Allen offers some observations about complementarianism and lays down some challenges.

It always strikes me as interesting that we resent when “our guys” get canceled but are completely on board when “their guys” get canceled. But anyway, that’s beside the point. “Cancellation is possible these days for anyone who commits actions or makes statements that one group or another considers beyond the pale. But what happens when cancel culture meets the breathtaking mercy of God’s kingdom?”

Ashley Anthony: “In years following my miscarriage, the Lord has continually sent me to his Word when others’ thoughts about the value of my little one’s life and my own pain have felt loud. For grieving parents, Psalm 139 provides dignity to our babies’ short lives in the womb and comfort for our aching hearts.”

Seth shares a sweet reflection on the sheer beauty of normal life. “Every day seems so similar as it passes that it’s hard to notice how things are changing. It’s only when I look back over the years that I see how different my life has become.”

If you are prone to overthinking, you may find help and challenge here. “It is okay to ask God for wisdom and guidance over our problems and grant us the light we need so that we know the path we ought to take in light of the darkness that we are in. But there are times when I try to put matters in my own hands as if I am the one who can fully and finally solve my problems; as if I am the one who knows it all; as if I am the one who can work with all my might to be able to surpass whatever obstacles I would have in this life.”

“We are approaching a once-every-four-year phenomenon. No, not the Olympics or the pageantry of elections, but the Bitcoin-halving (due in April). Monetary rewards for mining new bitcoins (which happens through computers solving complex math problems) get cut in half.”

When I was a child I was taught that sex and gender are binary—you are male or female, and your gender identity and gender expression will accord with it…Today, though, children are taught that every aspect of sexuality exists on a scale with no either/or.

You don’t get to decide to worship. Everyone worships something. The only choice you get is what to worship.
—Tim Keller

As I travel the world, I love to visit locations that are especially noteworthy within the history of the Christian faith. These may be spots where great events unfolded or spots where great people once lived or labored. Sadly, it is rare that these locations are still in any way consecrated to the Lord and to the spread of the gospel. In many of these places, you’re more likely to hear about the sexual revolution than the Protestant Reformation and more likely to have a guide lead you toward atheism than Christianity. I once found a notable exception, though, in the Netherlands.

The Watchmaker’s Daughter

There are some stories that are just so good and some characters who have accomplished or endured such amazing experiences that it’s only right we learn about them. One such character is Corrie ten Boom. Her story is well known. But by way of reminder, here’s a miniature refresher:
Ten Boom was raised in a devout household by a father who had an especially great love for the Jewish people. When war came to Europe and Germany conquered the Netherlands, the ten Booms quickly began to shelter Jewish refugees and to become involved in the resistance movement. The family was eventually found out and sent first to prison and then to labor camps. Sadly, few of the family members would survive the experience. When Corrie was eventually released, she returned home without her beloved father and sister. She also returned home in a time of extreme deprivation as the nation was slowly starved. After the war finally came to a close, she lived out her life telling about her experience and serving the needy.
Ten Boom’s story has been told a number of times in a number of forms. Most recently, it has been told by Larry Loftis in The Watchmaker’s Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom. Loftis is an accomplished writer whose preferred genre is nonfiction thrillers. He tells ten Boom’s story in that stylized form and it makes for an intriguing and fast-paced read. Before he set pen to paper, he did extensive research and includes information that, to my knowledge, has not been shared before and helps close out some open loops. He’s a talented writer and tells the story very well, though I might have preferred a bit more detail on her life after the war.
I mentioned earlier that in my travels I had found a notable exception to all the locations that now tell a story inconsistent with the Christian faith. But that was not the case at Corrie ten Boomhuis in Haarlem. When I visited that location and joined a public tour, the guide showed us around and told us the story of the place and its people. Then, best of all, he shared the gospel that was so important to the ten Boom family—he shared it and encouraged us to believe it. It was a sweet, encouraging, and appropriate moment.
The Watchmaker’s Daughter tells that story and tells it well. If you’re not familiar with Corrie ten Boom, you will appreciate it as an introduction to her life and influence. If you are already familiar with her, you will appreciate the book as a different telling that includes some new facts. Either way, you’ll find it well worth the read.
(As I was writing this review, I noticed that there is also a graphic novel adaption of her story that is releasing next week. It may be worth a look as well.)

Grace and peace to you, my friends.
10ofThose has a couple of interesting deals: 50% off a new book on parenting teens by Melissa Kruger and between 35% and 50% off a new graphic novel on the life of Corrie ten Boom. They’ve also still got ESVs at half price.
Meanwhile, Westminster Books has deeply discounted a new book (more of a tract or booklet, really) by Kevin DeYoung.

I think we all know that the “silent treatment” is not a godly approach to conflict, but it can sure feel like the way to act in the moment. “Though it may seem a lesser evil, this approach fails to align with the biblical requirement for resolving conflicts and nurturing a healthy marriage. A spouse who gives the silent treatment is likely to also engage in a broader cluster of similarly sinful behaviors—a pattern of behaviors first named during World War II.”

You may appreciate this reflection on manhood. “No longer are young men and boys being told to look towards Christ as their prime example of manliness. Instead, they are directed towards gyms, hard work, and raising children. These things might be good, in and of themselves, but they are not what the Bible teaches about manliness.”

This is so good. “We need more Christian content creators, but we don’t need more people who are only capable of beating one drum over and over again. We don’t need people who are only chasing the next viral hit. We don’t need people who get sucked into the distortion zone and lose themselves online. What we need is wise Christians who are rooted in their local community and bring their whole selves to what they create.”

Carl Trueman: “Cultural times are hard for traditional Christians. American evangelicalism has proved a fruitful target for those both outside and inside the church who want to stir up popular panic about Christian nationalism, racism, homophobia, and all the other ill-defined but nonetheless mortal sins of our day. Evangelicalism is presented as the root of all contemporary evils.”

What a wonderful truth to ponder. “Key to our engaging in spiritual warfare is recognition that the victory is Christ’s and is ours in Christ. We do not fight for victory but in victory. The prelude to Jesus sending us out to make disciples is the declaration of His accomplished mission”

This is a very good rule to live by: Don’t fear the results of obedience.

Though he has seen all the evil we have done and all the good we have left undone, still he has banished it all from his mind. He regards us as if we had never sinned, relates to us as if we had only ever been as righteous as Christ.

Christ did not come to make sinners savable but actually to save them. He did not merely open a door for salvation, he carried his people through it. He laid down his life that sinners might live.
—Jeremy Walker

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.
There are a couple of new Kindle deals to take a look at. They include Andy Naselli’s excellent Romans: A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written.
(Yesterday on the blog: Random Thoughts on Being a Dad)

This is an important word about the appropriate posture as we participate in the Lord’s Supper. “When we approach the Lord’s Supper we should do so with an attitude marked primarily by joy, and not sorrow. We come singing and rejoicing, not mourning or weeping. Yet, how can this be if the thought of death pervades the very foundations of the sacrament? The answer lies in the gospel.”

There’s lots of wisdom here about the relationship of Christians and churches to parachurch ministries. “Rather than addressing every possible error, a few characteristics for sound parachurch ministries are given which will bring clarity where needed…”

When told properly, church history leads to applications for the present day. That’s the case in this look at a bad form of Calvinism and how addressing it led to a great revival in missions.

Darby Strickland considers what it means that God rested from his work of Creation and suggests ways we can follow his lead, resting in his finished work.

Money can often lead to trouble in cross-cultural partnerships. In this article, Ryan Currie offers “three practical tips to consider when giving cross-culturally that can help minimize temptation and strengthen partnerships.”

How do Muslims view the Quran? Dr. A. S. Ibrahim answers in this video from SBTS.

Ideally, trauma is not the time to begin trying to understand how God is present in our pain, but the time to lean into what we already know to be true.

The foolish people of the world do not exist for my entertainment.
—Matthew Mitchell

Every now and again I jot down a thought that I’d like to ponder but that I don’t intend to tease out into a full article. Over the past few weeks, I have jotted down a series of thoughts on being a dad. I hope there is something here that benefits you or gets you thinking as well.

Your children will learn from you more than anyone else how a father is meant to treat his children and how a husband is meant to treat his wife. The words you speak about these subjects will pale in comparison to the ways you act. Your children are always watching and always learning. Live accordingly.

One of the great privileges and callings of being a dad is bearing the greatest responsibility for your children’s spiritual development. Yet many dads neglect this to their shame and their children’s peril. This most certainly involves ensuring you are all attending a sound local church and involved with it. And it most certainly involves the close discipleship of knowing their spiritual state and of teaching and training them in the Christian faith. Dad, there are many people and forces eager to disciple them away from the Lord; make it your purpose to disciple them toward him.

Family devotions is a wonderful opportunity to grow in knowledge and obedience together. The benefit is in the habit and the repetition—in committing to many years of sharing this experience together. Dad, take the lead in this best of all habits.

One negative word about your daughter’s boyfriend/fiancé/spouse may prove far more significant than a thousand positives. So be effusive with your praise and cautious with any criticism. Criticism will sink down deep.

It is the jurisdiction of dad, and dad alone, to declare when a bottle of shampoo is empty. Only he has the requisite skill to ensure it has been used to the last drop and only he has the right to declare when a new bottle can be opened.

Sons are especially prone to believe that dad is displeased with them. If it is not true of all sons, it is true of many sons. They need to be assured that they are beginning to become men and to gain the trust and confidence of their father. So be sure to provide plenty of words of encouragement and affirmation. Whatever else your son knows, make sure he knows that you love him and are proud of him.

Our God is lavish with his love and so often surprises us with the abundance of his provision. In just that way, it is the joy of a dad to provide for his children and to give them not only what they need, but also far more. It is a joy and a privilege (and perhaps even a duty) to surprise and delight them.

For all the fatherly joy of giving gifts to his children, what children benefit from even more is their father’s time and approval. Time together is a wonderful gift that reaps many blessings and benefits.

It may be wise to establish a pattern of taking your children out individually, whether for a meal, activity, or event. These special times with dad will display your love for your children and build beautiful memories together.

Being a dad will teach you a lot about the fatherhood of God. It will teach you about your own folly and God’s wisdom; it will teach you about your own sin and God’s forgiveness; it will teach you about your own disobedience and God’s unbreakable love.

One of the best ways to display your love for your children is to love their mother. After all, there is no one on earth they love more than her. Their respect for you will increase according to your love for her.

Don’t take it too hard when your children—tweens or young teens especially—say they dislike or even hate you. They don’t really. They’re just in one of the hardest phases of life and grappling with difficult social, spiritual, and biological realities. Pity them and pray for them.

It ought to ultimately fall to you to be the leading disciplinarian in the family—the one who establishes the situations in which discipline is warranted and the kind of discipline that will be meted out. Yet whenever you discipline and however you do it, ensure you do it in love and self-control. There is never an excuse to overreact to their sin.

When you sin in front of your children, apologize to your children. While it may feel like you are losing their respect by apologizing, you are actually regaining the respect you surrendered when you sinned against them in the first place. There are few better traits you can model before them than the humility that says, “I was wrong. Please, forgive me.”

The love of a daughter for her father is one of the sweetest and most precious loves the world can know. The love of a father for his daughter is one of the fiercest and most gentle loves the world can know.

Tell your girls they are beautiful. Tell them earnestly. Tell them often.

Tell your son you love him. Tell him earnestly. Tell him often. Tell him when looking him dead in the eye.

As you look back on life, you may well find that some of your greatest memories as a dad will be sitting in church beside your family. So learn to enjoy those moments now rather than only in retrospect. These are the halcyon days.

Sometimes, as your children get older, you need to let them make decisions for themselves that you consider poor or unwise. And that is okay (provided they are not utterly depraved decisions). You can be there to help them if and when the decision brings about tough consequences. This is one of the ways they will learn to navigate life.

It is wise to form relationships with dads whose children are farther along than yours and to ask them key questions—questions that may range from matters of discipline to enduring your children’s puberty. You can also give them free rein to speak with you and address any weaknesses they may see in your parenting.

Being a dad gets even better as children grow older. While you may wistfully remember the days when your children were young and in your home, being a father to grown children is a blessing all its own.

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.
Westminster Books has discounted a whole collection of their “new and notable” picks for April. The discounts include commentaries, theological works, along with books for adults and for kids.
Yes, the Kindle deals continue. What a joy to be able to so cost-effectively build a library!

This is a lovely reflection from Madelyn. “Maybe this Easter you couldn’t see the sunrise either. Maybe you were tempted to despair rather than praise. Maybe you sat in the pew with an armful of questions and left with no answers. Maybe you couldn’t sing without the knot forming in your throat and the tears threatening your eyes. Maybe you couldn’t make it to the pew at all.”

Richard Dawkins is now a self-professing cultural Christian. We didn’t see that one coming, did we? To be clear, there’s a world of difference between being a cultural Christian and being a true Christian. But still…

There are few better times of year than the beginning of a new baseball season (even when your team is as sad as the Blue Jays—who, as it happens, got no-hit on the day Casey posted this). “I’m aware that my opinion about baseball is not widely shared. I’ve lived in the Bluegrass State for two decades. Basketball reigns here, and I understand why. Basketball is a great sport. But basketball ain’t baseball and neither is football. Baseball stands alone atop the hierarchy of greatest sports every played under the sun. You’re free to disagree, but at least listen to my arguments.”

John Piper discusses the impact of watching a man (literally) die in the pulpit. “So, we were all sitting there when, suddenly, he stopped for no apparent reason. There were a few seconds of silence. He turned to his left and just collapsed. It was not a gentle collapse, as I recall. He hit the floor like a log, and the sound was frightening. He didn’t crumple. You thought it was quiet before? Good night. Now it was breath-holding quiet as two thousand students trembled inside. ‘Oh no. What has just happened?’”

Yes, let’s! “The longer I reflected, the larger the circle of God’s goodness grew. It’s good to exist. It’s good to be. Every breath we take testifies to the goodness of creation and the goodness of a Creator. And this fatherly benevolence flows to undeserving, often ungrateful creatures.”

“Ever since Adam and Eve tried to solve their separation from God with the solution of running away from God and blaming each other, we’ve been reenacting the comic tragedy in every generation since. We turn to our own way to solve the problem we have made; but that just makes the mess worse.”

I came across a wonderful quote from F.B. Meyer that is at least parenthetically related. He counsels us on what to do when others attack our character and seek to harm our name. In short: wait on the Lord.

The Lord’s “quickly” may not be my “quickly”; and if so, let him do what seemeth him good.
—Charles Spurgeon

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
I added a massive list of Christian and general market Kindle deals yesterday and will scour the options again today.
Logos is having a Base Package Sale this month with up to 25% off. You’ll also want to be sure to look at their free and nearly free books as well as their deal on books and commentaries from P&R (which, of course, includes the excellent Reformed Expository Commentary series).
(Yesterday on the blog: Why Do You Do What You Do (And Not Something Else)?)

Melissa considers the messaging of social media for young and not-so-young alike. “Everywhere I go on social media … I am bombarded with evidence that I should be dissatisfied with my hair, my face (especially my eyes, my lips, my skin, my forehead), my neck, my breasts, my belly, my legs, and even the rough spots on my feet. Every day that I engage with social media is a day that I will face critiques in my own mind and heart literally from head to toe. As a Christian, I can’t begin to explain how disorienting, discouraging, distracting, and disappointing that this is day in and day out.”

This article deals with an issue that can be confusing: What do you do about the sin of a person who is being abused? “Sin will always be present on both sides when you minister to a couple caught in cycles of abuse. Human beings sin, and suffering at the hands of someone else does not render you less of a sinner than the rest of humanity. It’s easy to fall into the trap of ‘mutualization’ or ‘equalization’.”

“Here we sit in 2024, with reality being questioned all around us. We, too, are desperate for a ‘Constant’ to discern what’s true from what’s false, what’s life-giving from that which seeks to mutilate body and soul.”

Brett McCracken asks some good questions. “Why are we numb to the resurrection’s shock and seemingly bored by history’s biggest event? Why does the headline ‘Billions worship a man who rose from the dead and ascended to heaven’ seem like old news that barely registers as a trending topic? Here are a few theories…”

“According to Autism Speaks, the non-profit research and awareness organization, 2.7 percent of children and 2.2 percent of adults in the United States have autism. So, in a church of just 200, at least two children and two adults probably have autism. Your church probably has autistic brothers and sisters attending. Do you know their names?”

Randy Alcorn: “Ironically, there are believers who would die rather than deny the resurrection, yet they don’t understand or believe what the doctrine of the resurrection actually means! Despite the centrality of the resurrection in Scripture and church history, many of them have never been clearly taught its meaning, so they imagine they’ll live forever in a disembodied state made for angels. But this viewpoint is self-contradictory. A nonphysical resurrection is like a sunless sunrise. There’s no such thing. Resurrection means we will have bodies! If we didn’t have bodies, we wouldn’t be resurrected.”

We sometimes encounter providences that make us believe the book has been closed and all has been lost. Yet when we are pressed, we must not think we have been crushed, but believe that God can still bring about a great redemption. 

Excellence in our work is actually a form of generosity and love, and poor quality is a form of stinginess and selfishness.
—Matt Perman

This week the blog is sponsored by Moody Publishers, publisher of Overflowing Mercies by Craig Allen Cooper. In the book, Craig opens readers to the beautiful, merciful heart of our triune God. In a culture that is short on compassion, maybe that’s difficult to imagine. There’s not nearly enough patience or tenderness in the world. Maybe you’re in the middle of a hard season and feel disheartened. In this 100-day devotional, you will be comforted as you meditate on God’s character and find courage in His promises to you.  You can purchase Overflowing Mercies here.
PSALM 103:10 “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”
On a writing retreat in south Florida, I learned of a man who had an altercation with another individual on the streets of Miami. They exchanged punches and one of the men fell to the ground. Rising and dusting himself off, he left the scene and returned to his vehicle, apparently having lost the fight. That’s when anger took control; in a fit of rage, he aimed his new Corvette at full speed onto the sidewalk, running over the individual who had struck him. When police arrived, they arrested the man for attempted vehicular homicide, while an ambulance took the injured pedestrian to the emergency room for treatment. Was this a display of strength? No, the whole scene was a spectacle of horror.
In contrast to this, God shows His power in the demonstrations of His patience. An ancient proverb says, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Prov. 16:32). Anyone can lose their temper, but it takes something stronger than might to keep the spirit in a tight rein. It takes the presence and power of the Almighty. The greatest display of strength is tenderness in the midst of provocation. Gentleness is the primo expression of power because the ruling of one’s spirit is strength under control.
God is all powerful, and in His almighty power, He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.Share
Jesus was the gentlest person to ever live on the face of this earth. On the cross, He prayed for His enemies who were crucifying him: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Now, Jesus invites us into His gentleness: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28–29).
We live in a world full of rage, and it is not a world full of rest. Rest and rage cannot coexist like gentleness and rest can. God is all powerful, and in His almighty power, He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. This is good news for every offender. Let’s rest in this mercy and learn to extend it to others with tenderness and strength.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!2
Reflect: Where have you seen gentle strength on display?
Let’s Pray:  Almighty God, I praise You for Your strength and Your tenderness even in the midst of provocation. There is no one like You, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Please fill my heart with Your tender mercy and strength to show Your gentleness in a world so full of rage. In Jesus’ name, amen.
2. “It Is Well with My Soul,” verse 3, Horatio Spafford (1873). Public domain