I’m wondering if I have any readers in Croatia. If I do, and especially if you’re in or near Split, would you mind getting in touch?

Since Eerdmans is offering 80% off the Kindle editions of all of their books, I spent a long time yesterday scouring their rather extensive catalog. I came up with a long list of books that may be of interest.
Westminster Books has some favorite ESV Bible editions discounted up to 63%.
The Antipsalms We Sing
“Our heads may love the psalms from 20,000 feet—the passionate pleading, the glory in God’s grandeur, the praise of his perfect providence. It’s a captivating landscape of raw emotion and spiritual vitality. But our hearts sing plenty of antipsalms.” Pierce explains and provides an example here.
Don’t Lose Hope – God’s Writing a Story of Redemption in Your Life
Sarah Walton: “I have been increasingly convicted by my attitude of entitlement and discontentment. Entitlement to health, success, financial relief, and God’s favor in ways that make sense to me. And yet, the truth is, he doesn’t owe me anything. He’s already given me more than I deserve and increasingly, I believe that God is pouring out his favor on me – and most likely you – as he strips away the lesser things that we measure his goodness by and sows in us a deeper, more settled faith that praises him in the darkness and rejoices in what he will do, even when that hope is yet to be realized.”
Seeing What You Have as Something That Doesn’t Belong to You
This is a brief reminder that the things you have don’t actually belong to you and, therefore, must be treated accordingly.
7 Tips for Loving “Those” People in Your Church
“If we’re to love our enemies, surely we’re to love ‘those’ people at church. Even the ones who drive us crazy. So how can we do that?” Jamie Dunlop offers a few ways.
A Lavish Love
This is such a sweet celebration of grandparents and grandparenting.
Light Overcomes the Darkness
“When we read of ‘people walking in darkness’ or a ‘land of darkness’ it’s not hard to relate. That’s our reality. We feel the burden of the world’s evil daily—injustice, political upheaval, heinous crimes, greed, spite, dishonesty, exploitation, outrage, slander. And that’s all just in the morning’s headlines and a scroll through social media.”
Flashback: The Legend of the Battle-Weary Crusader
Each of us who is in Christ is tending a little garden in which heavenly seeds have been planted and begun to thrive—seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The coming of Christ is not only a magnificent spectacle; it is a personal welcome. And the welcome is supremely to himself. —John Piper

I’m wondering if I have any readers in Croatia. If I do, and especially if you’re in or near Split, would you mind getting in touch?
Since Eerdmans is offering 80% off the Kindle editions of all of their books, I spent a long time yesterday scouring their rather extensive catalog. I came up with a long list of books that may be of interest.
Westminster Books has some favorite ESV Bible editions discounted up to 63%.

“Our heads may love the psalms from 20,000 feet—the passionate pleading, the glory in God’s grandeur, the praise of his perfect providence. It’s a captivating landscape of raw emotion and spiritual vitality. But our hearts sing plenty of antipsalms.” Pierce explains and provides an example here.

Sarah Walton: “I have been increasingly convicted by my attitude of entitlement and discontentment. Entitlement to health, success, financial relief, and God’s favor in ways that make sense to me. And yet, the truth is, he doesn’t owe me anything. He’s already given me more than I deserve and increasingly, I believe that God is pouring out his favor on me – and most likely you – as he strips away the lesser things that we measure his goodness by and sows in us a deeper, more settled faith that praises him in the darkness and rejoices in what he will do, even when that hope is yet to be realized.”

This is a brief reminder that the things you have don’t actually belong to you and, therefore, must be treated accordingly.

“If we’re to love our enemies, surely we’re to love ‘those’ people at church. Even the ones who drive us crazy. So how can we do that?” Jamie Dunlop offers a few ways.

This is such a sweet celebration of grandparents and grandparenting.

“When we read of ‘people walking in darkness’ or a ‘land of darkness’ it’s not hard to relate. That’s our reality. We feel the burden of the world’s evil daily—injustice, political upheaval, heinous crimes, greed, spite, dishonesty, exploitation, outrage, slander. And that’s all just in the morning’s headlines and a scroll through social media.”

Each of us who is in Christ is tending a little garden in which heavenly seeds have been planted and begun to thrive—seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

The coming of Christ is not only a magnificent spectacle; it is a personal welcome. And the welcome is supremely to himself.
—John Piper

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.

There are a couple of Kindle deals to look at today, including Like a River, Granger Smith’s memoir.
(Yesterday on the blog: You Will Never Regret The Sins You Do Not Commit)
Behind the Tragic, Instagram-Perfect Life of an Ex-Disney Executive
This is such a tragic story that tells about the life and death of Dave Hollis (husband to influencer Rachel Hollis). “When Dave Hollis quit his plum Disney job to join his wife Rachel’s self-help empire, the pair built a business around sharing some of their darkest feelings on social media. The reality was even worse.” (I attempted to use a free link from WSJ so hopefully you’re able to open it properly.)
Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Our Constantinian Moment
Brad Littlejohn has written an especially fascinating article. “It is a timely moment to reflect on the conversion of Constantine, because our civilization stands at a similar crossroads to that which confronted this Roman leader at Milvian Bridge. And many of our own seasoned leaders are making a similar gamble: Christianity alone can provide the glue to hold us together, the spiritual resources to revive our peoples.”
Don’t Think About Pink Elephants: When Gay Conservatives Go Rogue on Orthodox Christianity
On a somewhat similar note, Stephen McAlpine writes about the growing rift between gay conservatives and conservative Christians.
Do You Have Advice for Someone Who Is About to Enter Seminary?
Sinclair Ferguson offers some advice for those about to enter seminary.
The Long, Forgotten Reformation in France: A Brief History of the Huguenots
If you’re not familiar with the Huguenots, you should be! This longform article from DG is an excellent primer.
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
“The funeral is over. Robyn’s earthly tent has been laid to rest. Family and friends have dispersed. Left over food and flowers have been brought home. A season is over. A chapter is done. Life will change. But now it’s time to rest and reflect.” And even at a time like that, Andy is praising the Lord for his love and faithfulness.
Flashback: Talk About Jesus, Not Celebrities
We will be a blessing to the world around us if instead of obsessing about people we fix our hearts on Christ. So take this as my call to you and to me and to all of us: Let’s stop the gossip. Let’s stop the gossip and instead make it our delight to speak about who our God is and about what our God has done.

Jesus…never promised to build a campus ministry. There is only one institution on earth that Jesus Christ promised to build, and that’s the church. If you want to be into what Jesus is into, you’ll get into a church. —Kevin DeYoung

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.
(Yesterday on the blog: You Will Never Regret The Sins You Do Not Commit)

This is such a tragic story that tells about the life and death of Dave Hollis (husband to influencer Rachel Hollis). “When Dave Hollis quit his plum Disney job to join his wife Rachel’s self-help empire, the pair built a business around sharing some of their darkest feelings on social media. The reality was even worse.” (I attempted to use a free link from WSJ so hopefully you’re able to open it properly.)

Brad Littlejohn has written an especially fascinating article. “It is a timely moment to reflect on the conversion of Constantine, because our civilization stands at a similar crossroads to that which confronted this Roman leader at Milvian Bridge. And many of our own seasoned leaders are making a similar gamble: Christianity alone can provide the glue to hold us together, the spiritual resources to revive our peoples.”

On a somewhat similar note, Stephen McAlpine writes about the growing rift between gay conservatives and conservative Christians.

Sinclair Ferguson offers some advice for those about to enter seminary.

If you’re not familiar with the Huguenots, you should be! This longform article from DG is an excellent primer.

“The funeral is over. Robyn’s earthly tent has been laid to rest. Family and friends have dispersed. Left over food and flowers have been brought home. A season is over. A chapter is done. Life will change. But now it’s time to rest and reflect.” And even at a time like that, Andy is praising the Lord for his love and faithfulness.

We will be a blessing to the world around us if instead of obsessing about people we fix our hearts on Christ. So take this as my call to you and to me and to all of us: Let’s stop the gossip. Let’s stop the gossip and instead make it our delight to speak about who our God is and about what our God has done.

Jesus…never promised to build a campus ministry. There is only one institution on earth that Jesus Christ promised to build, and that’s the church. If you want to be into what Jesus is into, you’ll get into a church.
—Kevin DeYoung

This week, the blog is sponsored by Reformation Heritage Books’ new devotional on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Glorifying and Enjoying God (written by William Boekestein, Jonathan L. Cruse, and Andrew J. Miller). Enjoy this brief article explaining the history and benefits of studying this precious document.

Glorifying and Enjoying God is intended not only to increase knowledge but to stoke love for God. We believe that the heart and mind are intertwined; that we will love God more the better we know Him. Thus, as pastors, we chose to explain the Westminster Shorter Catechism and its biblical underpinnings not only that you might understand the truth better but that the truth would set you free (John 8:32). Better theology, better knowledge of God, leads to deeper discipleship and richer doxology.
What is a catechism?
A catechism provides written instruction in the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. It should be based on Scripture, even a kind of paraphrase of Scripture’s content. Catechisms have been called maps that survey the ground of Scripture and help a person to navigate the Bible. It can and should be read alongside the Bible, which itself uses the question-and-answer format so often employed in catechisms: “Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Ps. 24:10; 119:9; see also Amos 3:3–6). Clearly, while law schools today may utilize the Socratic method of teaching by asking and answering questions, the origin of this method is far more ancient.
Why should we use catechisms?
Learning the Christian faith via catechism pays great spiritual dividends. Not only was Timothy taught the faith in his family (2 Tim. 1:5), but Apollos was a catechism success story: 
Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed [katecheo] in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord…. He greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 18:24–28)
Despite our antihistorical, individualistic modern society that echoes the Athenians’ continual thirst for something new, this catechism, though hundreds of years old, continues to remain relevant and helpful because it reflects God’s Word, which is still living and active (Acts 17:21; Heb. 4:12). It reflects the pattern of sound words passed down for our edification (Acts 17:11; Gal. 1:11; 2 Thess. 2:15; 2 Tim. 1:13; Jude 1:3). The Shorter Catechism questions also foster new love: “The people of God show their love as they confess the doctrines of the Bible and as those truths inform their conduct, all to the glory and love of God,” writes J. V. Fesko. To this end, this book provides devotional theology; the catechism’s objective statements of the truth are paired to practical and doxological explanations.
B. Warfield reported that when a child explained “What is prayer” to Dwight L. Moody using the Shorter Catechism, he declared, “Thank God for that Catechism!” We pray that you, dear reader, would be able to echo that exclamation.
Pick up Glorifying and Enjoying God to instruct your family and inform your faith!

There are a few little phrases I think about and repeat to myself on a regular basis. One of the simplest but most frequent is this: You will never regret the sins you do not commit. It’s basic. It’s easy. It’s obvious. But I need to hear it again and again.

Like you, I know that dreadful sick-to-my-stomach feeling that follows a sin, and especially one of those sins I am particularly committed to battling and overcoming. Though I had promised myself that I would never again commit that sin, though I had prayed for the Lord’s help, and though I had addressed the pattern of temptation and attempted to nip it in the bud, still I had caved and blundered into it once again. And I understood: I failed to take hold of the grace the Holy Spirit offered in that very moment of temptation. I sinned only because I chose to sin, only because I wanted to sin, only because sin was more attractive to me in that moment than righteousness.
And so I know the flush of heat that creeps up my neck and over my face, the sweat that beads on my forehead when I acknowledge that, yes, I did it again.
I know the deep feeling of failure and am familiar with having to go before the Lord to confess it again and to admit that I’m far more of a spiritual infant than I care to admit.
I know the sense of disappointment in myself and the necessary hardship of having to tell a friend or tell my wife that I messed up.
Like you, I know what it is to regret a sin and to wish that I hadn’t committed it. Hence, I often repeat to myself that little phrase: You will never regret the sins you do not commit. It reminds me of the obvious fact that regret comes when I succumb to temptation and joy comes when I resist. I’ve never once regretted resisting a temptation, never once mourned turning away from a sin, never once felt guilty for obeying God’s Word. To the contrary, I’ve felt such satisfaction when temptation has given way to righteousness, when I’ve slammed the door instead of opening it, when I’ve fled the devil instead of welcoming him in. Regret and sin are close neighbors, but regret and righteousness exist a world apart.
And so in the moments when sin seems attractive and righteousness seems burdensome, in the moments when doing what God forbids feels like it will deliver joy and doing what he commands feels like it will make me miserable, I stop, I consider, and I repeat this little phrase: You will never regret the sins you do not commit.

The Lord be with you and bless you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number that are worth checking out. You’ll find several by John Stott, David Wells, and so on.
Pain Needs Interpreting
“Rather than just react to pain, the Bible calls us to act towards it. We’re not to just be subject to our pain, blown about in every direction by it. Rather we’re to respond to it, and subject it to the light of God’s word.” In other words, we need to carefully interpret it.
Your Love for Jesus Is Measured by What He Asks of You, Not by How You Treat Christmas
Stephen offers some level-headed thoughts here about Christmas, and about the fact that some Christians celebrate it while others do not.
Is Predestination Unfair?
“A common objection to unconditional election is that it’s unfair. Isn’t God unfair to choose to save only some humans not based on any human condition but solely on his sovereign good pleasure? Isn’t there injustice on God’s part that some people are not elect?” Andy Naselli answers the objection.
9 Biblical Methods for Encouraging One Another
This article by Caleb Davis traces 9 ways that Christians can encourage one another.
Wise Friendship Is Unwaveringly Committed
Al shows that wise friendship is committed friendship. “Fast food is OK if you need a quick hit of sugar and fat, something to give you just enough energy to do what you need to do.  But we all know it isn’t good for us, it doesn’t nourish us, it doesn’t build us up.  Fast friendship is the same – it has no depth, provides no nourishment, and doesn’t give us life.”
Themelios 48.3
If you are interested in some slightly more academic reading, you may want to take a look at the new issue of Themelios. It offers plenty of articles and book reviews.
Flashback: What Matters Is Not the Size of Your Faith
What secures us in our trials is not the magnitude of our faith, but the power of the one in whom we have placed it. The smallest bit of faith in God is worth infinitely more than the greatest bit of faith in ourselves, or the strongest measure of faith in faith itself.

Loving your neighbor as yourself, when the category of neighbor includes everyone you meet, including your enemies, is a supernatural action, and it is an action that is the proof of our salvation. —Alistair Begg

The Lord be with you and bless you today.
Today’s Kindle deals include a number that are worth checking out. You’ll find several by John Stott, David Wells, and so on.

“Rather than just react to pain, the Bible calls us to act towards it. We’re not to just be subject to our pain, blown about in every direction by it. Rather we’re to respond to it, and subject it to the light of God’s word.” In other words, we need to carefully interpret it.

Stephen offers some level-headed thoughts here about Christmas, and about the fact that some Christians celebrate it while others do not.

“A common objection to unconditional election is that it’s unfair. Isn’t God unfair to choose to save only some humans not based on any human condition but solely on his sovereign good pleasure? Isn’t there injustice on God’s part that some people are not elect?” Andy Naselli answers the objection.

This article by Caleb Davis traces 9 ways that Christians can encourage one another.

Al shows that wise friendship is committed friendship. “Fast food is OK if you need a quick hit of sugar and fat, something to give you just enough energy to do what you need to do. But we all know it isn’t good for us, it doesn’t nourish us, it doesn’t build us up. Fast friendship is the same – it has no depth, provides no nourishment, and doesn’t give us life.”

If you are interested in some slightly more academic reading, you may want to take a look at the new issue of Themelios. It offers plenty of articles and book reviews.

What secures us in our trials is not the magnitude of our faith, but the power of the one in whom we have placed it. The smallest bit of faith in God is worth infinitely more than the greatest bit of faith in ourselves, or the strongest measure of faith in faith itself.

Loving your neighbor as yourself, when the category of neighbor includes everyone you meet, including your enemies, is a supernatural action, and it is an action that is the proof of our salvation.
—Alistair Begg

I have been blogging at Challies.com on a daily basis for over 20 years now. That long commitment has allowed me to write thousands of articles and hundreds of book reviews while also sending millions of visitors to other sites through the daily A La Carte feature. While I’ve also written a number of books, through it all the blog has remained the “main thing.” Much of the blog’s content is now also translated into Spanish, French, and a number of other languages.

One of my great desires has always been to freely give away as much as possible. I intend for it to always remain entirely free for all who visit. While for obvious reasons this can’t happen when it comes to books, I’ve made it my goal to ensure that everything else has been freely and widely distributed. This has been possible largely because of advertisers, but there is also a key role for the generosity of individuals.
This is where patrons come in. A service called Patreon provides a convenient means of linking content producers (like me) with supporters (like you).
To that end, I would like to ask those who regularly read this site to consider supporting me by becoming a patron. By supporting me with even a modest monthly gift, you will be able to be part of this ongoing work. You will also receive Patron-only monthly updates on what I have been doing in the month that has passed and what I plan to do in the month ahead. Funds donated will be used to support my family and to help create great content or to otherwise improve, support, and enhance Challies.com. In one way or another, they will all be used to allow me to continue to do what I have been doing for these past 20 years.
I’m also sometimes asked about one-time gifts. If that is of interest to you, they can be made by credit card via PayPal or forwarded by check to this address:
Tim Challies1011 Upper Middle Road East, Box #1214Oakville, Ontario L6H 5Z9Canada
Please understand that I intend for Challies.com to always remain entirely free. In fact, patrons help ensure that it always remains that way.
Thank you for considering becoming a patron of Challies.com. Your support means so much to me. And this is the end of my once-yearly mention of this subject!

I have been blogging at Challies.com on a daily basis for over 20 years now. That long commitment has allowed me to write thousands of articles and hundreds of book reviews while also sending millions of visitors to other sites through the daily A La Carte feature. While I’ve also written a number of books, through it all the blog has remained the “main thing.” Much of the blog’s content is now also translated into Spanish, French, and a number of other languages.
One of my great desires has always been to freely give away as much as possible. I intend for it to always remain entirely free for all who visit. While for obvious reasons this can’t happen when it comes to books, I’ve made it my goal to ensure that everything else has been freely and widely distributed. This has been possible largely because of advertisers, but there is also a key role for the generosity of individuals.
This is where patrons come in. A service called Patreon provides a convenient means of linking content producers (like me) with supporters (like you).
To that end, I would like to ask those who regularly read this site to consider supporting me by becoming a patron. By supporting me with even a modest monthly gift, you will be able to be part of this ongoing work. You will also receive monthly Patron-only updates on what I have been doing in the month that has passed and what I plan to do in the month ahead. Funds donated will be used to support my family and to help create great content or to otherwise improve, support, and enhance Challies.com. In one way or another, they will all be used to allow me to continue to do what I have been doing for these past 20 years.
I’m also sometimes asked about one-time gifts. If that is of interest to you, they can be made by credit card via PayPal or forwarded by check to this mailing address:
Tim Challies1011 Upper Middle Road East, Box #1214Oakville, Ontario L6H 5Z9Canada
Please understand that I intend for Challies.com to always remain entirely free. In fact, patrons help ensure that it always remains that way.
Thank you for considering becoming a patron of Challies.com. Your support means so much to me. And this is the end of my once-yearly mention of this subject!