As a devotee of chronological Bible-reading plans, I was pleased to learn of the new ESV Chronological Bible that Crossway just announced and released. It’s available in hardcover and TruTone.

(Yesterday on the blog: On the Day When God Fails in Just One of His Promises)
The Remembrance of Blood
This is a strong article by Andrew Roycroft. “As Christians what do we have to say about human life, large scale bloodshed, and the injustice that often follows it? Does the Bible provide us with a framework for processing and addressing these issues in a morally satisfying way? How can we think well about the legacy of blood that stains the conscience of the world we live in?”
Remember Sybil
“Remember Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)? The 1980 diagnostic manual called DSM-III defined MPD for the first time, but the psychiatric professionals in 1994 changed the diagnosis (in the DSM-IV) to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). According to Psychology Today the change was ‘to reflect a better understanding of the condition—namely, that it is characterized by fragmentation or splintering of identity, rather than by proliferation or growth of separate personalities.’ (PT, 9.21). Splintering rather than separate.” Nathan draws an important lesson from this.
Is It Wrong to Have Sex Before Marriage?
Obviously it is wrong, but it’s important we consider the reasons for this (as Kevin DeYoung does here). “Not long ago, an American politician found herself in an awkward situation when she mentioned at a prayer breakfast that she was running late for the event because her fiancé wanted to have sex that morning. From her public admission, it was clear that the woman and her fiancé were living together and were in a sexual relationship. What was also clear is that the woman—a professing Christian at an evangelical church (with her pastor in the audience)—didn’t realize she had said or done anything wrong.”
Prayer Requests from a Church in Israel
Randy Alcorn passes along prayer requests from a local church in Israel. It is good to know how to pray for our brothers and sisters there.
Navel-Gazing Won’t Help You Grow
“Have you ever met a chronic navel-gazer? Well, if you haven’t before, you have now. Hi, my name is Brittany. Nice to meet you.”
Trust the Lord in Your Marriage
We know that God calls us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” In this article, Jacob calls us to do so in a very particular area.
Flashback: 5 Bad Substitutes for Discipline
Because discipline is unpopular and unpleasant, parents often find themselves looking for substitutes. In her book Parenting Against the Tide, Ann Benton lists five poor substitutes for disciplining our children—five poor substitutes that fail to address the heart.

Believers don’t depend on luck, chance, fate, or fortune. We trust a God who has planned all things for our good and His glory. Trust, rejoice, obey. —Dustin Benge

There’s nothing easier than looking at the world around us and feeling despair. Society is in open rebellion against God and it seems like that rebellion must soon lead to some kind of persecution against God’s people. Courts and politicians seem content to chip away at the right to speak freely and worship according to conscience. Higher education and mainstream media are glad to play along with every progressive agenda. And amidst it all, even the church seems to be distracted by silly nonsense and engrossed in petty quarrels.

But despite all this, we should not be discouraged. We must not be discouraged. For it is in times like this that the Lord has so often proven his power. It is in times like this that the Lord has so often intervened to save his people and glorify his name. It is in times like this that God loves to act.
God’s people were being ground under the heels of the Midianites. Whenever the crops would ripen, the mighty armies of Midian would raid the land and pilfer the best of the produce. The starving people of Israel were forced to flee, to find refuge in dens and caves, to escape with their lives and not much else. But the people cried out to God and God heard them. He told them to assemble the smallest of all armies and with just a few hundred men who were armed with mere torches and jars, he put a mighty army to flight. Just when all hope seemed lost, God vanquished the foe and won a great victory.
The armies of Assyria had conquered all the cities of northern Judah and now approached Jerusalem. Though the king had plundered his own palace and temple in an attempt to buy off Assyria, they remained committed to laying waste to the city and destroying its people. They promised that before long the people of Jerusalem would be so destitute that they would resort to drinking their own urine and eating their own dung. But the people prayed. Led by the king, they pleaded with God for his help, they placed themselves in his hands. And he delivered them. Before they had so much as fired an arrow or swung a sword, God had routed the enemy army and sent it away.
God’s people were in captivity and facing a fearsome enemy. A time of state-sanctioned persecution was about to be unleashed upon them. The message went out: “On such a such a day, all the normal rules are relaxed. On that day, feel free to kill those people—men, women, and children alike—and take their stuff as your own. Have at it.” The end seemed to be at hand. But the people prayed and the people fasted and the people pleaded with God. And God moved. God delivered his people. God saved them.
Are we in worse condition than Israel under Midian? Is our situation more dire than when the Rabshakeh spoke aloud in the hearing of all the people to tell them that nothing and no one could save them? Is our day as bad as the day when Esther told the people to pray and said, “If I die, I die?” God’s love has not lessened, his arm has not weakened, his desire to glorify himself has not diminished. And so we must not grow despondent or discouraged.
And how could we be discouraged when we know this world is the Lord’s and that he has purposes to accomplish within it—purposes that no one can thwart? The God who vanquished Midian with the sound of breaking jars, the God who turned the Assyrians against one another, the God who turned a day of terror into a day of feasting has not become weak, has not become distant, has not become uninterested in the plight of his people.
On the day when Midian triumphs over the army of Israel and puts them to flight, on the day when the Rabshakeh marches victoriously into Jerusalem, on the day when Esther falls before the sword—on that day we may grow discouraged. On the day when God fails in just one of his promises, on the day when God neglects to come through on just one of his vows, on the day when he is proven a liar—on that day we may become despondent.
But until that time we have no reason to fret and no reason to despair. Until that day we have every reason to pray and to plead that God would move, that God would act, that God would protect his people and glorify his name. Until that time and that day, we have every reason to humble ourselves before the Lord and to entrust ourselves to the God who always does what is right.

May the Lord be with you and bless you today, my friends.

Westminster Books has a deal this week on an excellent new book about Psalm 23. They’ve got another batch of good books discounted as well.
Meanwhile, one of my favorite J.I. Packer books is on sale today in the Kindle edition.
The Mission Field We Don’t Think About
“When I discuss the need for Christians to minister in care facilities, most people are unaware of how bad the situation is. Many picture large facilities with clean, private rooms and resident chaplains paid to provide pastoral care. Such facilities are outliers.” This is an important article from TGC.
Retirement: The New Afterlife?
I suppose this article at least somewhat relates to the previous one. “It used to be that people believed in an afterlife. The Christian hope is that ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us’ (Romans 8:18). But take away the hope of a glorious future beyond this life and we have to try and find it here and now.”
What Is Effeminacy? A Survey of Scripture and History
The term effeminate has made a comeback in recent years, but in this article Steven Wedgeworth shows that many people are not using it within its historical context.
Be A Man, Go To Church
Anne Kennedy offers some interesting reflections inspired by Nancy Pearcey’s The Toxic War on Masculinity.
How does Reformed theology view the future of Israel compared to dispensationalism? (Video)
Here is a timely answer to a question many are asking: What does Reformed theology have to say about the future of Israel? And how does that differ from dispensationalism?
Rebuked by Blessing
“Have you ever been rebuked by bananas? Probably not. But Darlene Deibler was.” That sounds like a story worth reading, doesn’t it?
Flashback: Extending the Borders and Enlarging the Territory
Day by day we take more and more of the vast possession that is ours in Christ. And always and ever we look with expectation to the day the battles will finally be over, the land will finally be fully conquered, and we shall reign forever with Him.

If you neglected to water your garden, you would not wonder for a moment why it was drying up. Then, when you are neglecting to water the soul in vigorous, spiritual exercises, why do you wonder at your being so spiritually dull? —Charles Ebert Orr

Astute readers would have noticed that I posted today’s A La Carte yesterday which means, I suppose, that I’m posting yesterday’s today. How confusing…

Today’s Kindle deals include some classic novels and other books.
(Yesterday on the blog: If God Utters Any Complaint At All)
5 Ways the World Would Be Worse Without Christianity
“In 2007, God Is Not Great, a bestselling book by the late Christopher Hitchens, denounced Christianity as being violent, hateful, and inimical to human flourishing. Today, similar claims are reiterated by those who condemn Christianity as the religion of the oppressor class. Christians are instructed to ‘check their privilege’ and ‘do the work’ to repudiate Christianity’s toxic legacy. But what would the world really be like without Christianity?”
The Power And Pitfall Of Vulnerability
Lara explains the power and the pitfall of vulnerability (both online and in the local church).
An Assessment of Andy Stanley’s Unconditional Conference
These are strong words: “If I wanted to quietly mainstream pro-gay theology and transgender ideology into the evangelical church, I would create this conference. It’s the perfect vehicle.”
The Real War
“Some of us remember when the world’s suffering was relegated to one hour on the nightly news. We watched a sober-faced newscaster recount famines and wars and disasters in far-off places with sorrow in our hearts, and then we returned to a sink full of dishes or our algebra homework and the horror faded as the immediate pressed in. Now, though, we have the internet.” Yes, that was then and this is now.
Remember That You Prayed
There’s an important application in this one: Don’t only pray–also remember that you prayed and what you prayed.
Healing Words or Sword Thrusts?
“If your tongue habitually spews forth words of death in the form of discouragement, anger, or jealousy, then you must realize that it’s a heart issue before it’s a tongue issue. You can try to control the tongue, but it will be driven by what’s in your heart. No amount of self-discipline can kink the hose between what’s in your heart and what comes out of your mouth.”
Flashback: What You Can Take With You Into Eternity
As Job exclaimed in the depths of his misery, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” But as J.R. Miller reminds us in this old quote, there actually is one thing we can take with us.

Never think that you have so much to do that you have not much time for prayer. An hour’s work done in the quiet, secret power of the Spirit is worth more than a day of your own efforts. Keep the roots watered. —Charles Ebert Orr

This week the blog is sponsored by The Missionary Conference (October 2024, Jacksonville, FL). Plan to attend it to hear from John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Kevin DeYoung, Conrad Mbewe, and many others. 

There are many, many Christian conferences, all with varying values. Why another conference? And why put missions front and center? Here are four reasons why the Missionary Conference is worth attending:
1. This conference celebrates the 500-year anniversary of William Tyndale translating the Scriptures into English.
In 1524, William Tyndale began the task of bringing the word of God into his native tongue, and in the process changed the world. Good missions have always been rooted in the Scriptures no matter the day and age. For English speakers, this achievement is worth remembering, pondering, and celebrating.
2. It is united by missions and speaks pointedly and practically.
While we remember and celebrate the work of Tyndale, the burning question remains, what of those who still have no gospel, no church, and no translation in their language? Sponsors like Desiring God, Crossway, Radius International, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and many more are united by the spread of the gospel to tongues that still live in darkness. This conference will speak to that task and how churches and individuals can be tangibly involved inthe Commission that still is binding on the church today.
3. It has a strong group of speakers who are passionate about biblical missions.
Hear from renowned preachers and teachers including John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Steven Lawson, Kevin DeYoung, Conrad Mbewe, Brooks Buser, Harshit Singh, and many others.
4. It features the premiere of the documentary film Missionary: Obeying the Great Commission.
The Missionary Project is a 5-year in-the-making film that focuses on six pioneer missionaries and a timeless theme exemplified in each of their lives. Each lesson is 35-45 minutes and will feature a study guide for Sunday Schools, Small Groups, and any group interested in diving deeper into missions. Each clip is shot on location where they grew up, went to church, where they served overseas, and many where their bodies were laid to rest.
The six missionaries are:

William Tyndale—The Primacy of Scripture
William Carey—Perseverance
Amy Carmichael—Singleness and the Sufficiency of God
Adoniram Judson—Suffering and the Sufficiency of God
Hudson Taylor—Culture and Language Fluency
John Paton—The Primacy of the Church

Join us for this remarkable one-time conference that will bring together hearts of thankfulness for what our God has done, and if He tarries, hopefulness in what He will do—even to the ends of the earth.
Register for the conference today: https://missionary.net/conference
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A father and his child walked together by the banks of the Yangtze River. They paused often to gaze at it in wonder. In the distance, they could hear the roar of a waterfall and they could see great clouds of mist rising far into the air. Soon they came to the edge of the chasm where the water plummets to a gorge far below. Approaching the bank of the river where the water is shallow and safe, they stopped and stooped so the father could dip a cup into the river. He held it toward his child and said, “Drink.” But just as the cup met the child’s thirsty lips, a voice boomed from the river and said, “Don’t drink! There’s not enough water for you. I am in danger of running dry.”

The missionaries had traveled far down the Amazon in a long, open river canoe. A local pilot guided the husband and wife safely through sections narrow and wide, deep and shallow. He led them safely to the point where they would disembark and begin their lives among a tribe that had never heard of Jesus and never had the opportunity to worship his name. When the boat finally nudged up against the bank of the river, they leaped ashore. Having unloaded their meager belongings, they watched the pilot turn and head back, their last link to the lives they had left behind. Taking a bucket, the wife dipped it and filled it and just as she began to pull it ashore, the river cried out, “You can take that, but no more. You can drink seldom, but not often. For my water is running out. This river is running dry.”
Stuff and nonsense, as they say. The world’s great rivers do not run dry. The world’s great rivers flow throughout the seasons. The world’s great rivers are never so low that they cannot sate the thirst of a parched traveler, never so dry that they cannot refresh the body of a weary wanderer. We can drink from them as often as we need to, refresh ourselves in their waters, irrigate our lands as much as necessary. They flow swiftly, they flow mightily, they flow endlessly. They flow like the grace of God. They flowed yesterday and they flow today and they will flow still tomorrow and through endless ages to come. They flow without end and always invite us to take and drink.
And so too the grace of God. We can always and forever approach God’s throne of grace and plead for mercy and grace to help in our time of need. We can plead for mercy that forgives when we have strayed and God will never turn us away, he will never fail to respond, he will never refuse to pardon us. We can plead for grace, grace to equip us to endure trials, to remain unbroken when tested, and to remain unsullied when tempted.
And that grace will never run out. We will never exhaust God with our coming to him, never tire God with our pleas for his help. We will never reach the end of his ability to assist or his capacity to intervene. We will never encounter an enemy that is beyond his power to defeat and never come into a situation that is beyond his power to overcome. He will never be bothered by our coming and he will never turn us away. If God utters any complaint at all, it is merely that we should have approached more often and more earnestly, that we should have drunk more freely of the waters and drunk more deeply.
“Drink!” say the great rivers of the world. “Drink until you are satisfied and then drink again. Drink without hesitation. Drink without concern. Drink without fear that you will exhaust these waters.” And “Approach!” says God. “Approach my throne and simply ask—ask for mercy, ask for grace, ask in your time of need, ask and ask again, and I will supply what you require. The Amazon will run dry long before you reach the end of my grace. The Yangtze will cry out for you to stop drinking of its waters before I will scold you for coming to me too frequently, too earnestly, too helplessly. So come and speak, come and plead, come and drink.”

Inspired by F.B. Meyer

Good morning. Grace and peace to you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: A Prayer for My Parent Heart)
Start Giving Before You Inherit
“Millennials may inherit over $68 trillion from previous generations by 2030. According to Newsweek, some experts believe this ‘could be the largest transfer of wealth in the history of humankind.’ What will younger generations do with that wealth?” Randy Alcorn has a proposal for you to consider.
Biblical Hope When It’s Time to Consider Residential Care
“No one dreams about putting their loved one in a home. We all hold out hope that we will be able to manage when age and disease come calling. That’s a beautiful hope, worthy of clinging to. I’m not here to pop that bubble, but the fact is, seventy percent of us over age sixty-five will need long term care at some point, not to mention extended hospital stays, rehabilitation, or psychiatric treatment.”
3 Core Beliefs of the Transgender Movement
Samuel Ferguson explains three core beliefs of the transgender movement (and why they do not accord with what the Bible teaches). He also expresses some concerns about transitioning.
Bright on the Outside, Dark on the Inside: Why Salvation Is a Matter of the Heart
Pierce Taylor Hibbs: “When it comes to spiritual matters, what you see is seldom what you get. Appearances aren’t just deceiving; they can be damning. History is rife with examples of hypocrisy: those who claim to be full of light but who are, in fact, dark as dungeons. A recent example reminded me just how important it is to maintain that the inside is what matters most. Salvation is a matter of the heart, not a battle for the head. And I’ll explain why.”
Partnering Together to Plant
“Cooperation is built on a theological foundation. Pastors, we are brothers! This theological truth shows up in basically every New Testament epistle. And part of what the New Testament calls us to is cooperation in the mission that God has given to his church.” Nate Akin encourages churches to be willing and eager to cooperate in planting new churches.
Even Heretics Know Hebrew: How to Interpret the Bible in Partisan Times
I have been enjoying these longform articles from Desiring God. In this one Kevin Vanhoozer describes a hermeneutics of boldness and humility.
Flashback: There Are Different Kinds of Tired
A day spent purposefully, a day spent in bringing glory to God by doing good to others—this is a day that will bring pleasure, even as it brings fatigue, this is a day that will bring joy, even as it brings weariness.

God takes everyone he loves through a desert. It is his cure for our wandering hearts, restlessly searching for a new Eden. —Paul Miller

It can, at times, be difficult to know what and how to pray for our children and what and how to pray for ourselves as their parents. This is true when they are young but, in my experience, becomes even more prominent as they grow older. This is why it is helpful to have books like Kathleen Nielson’s Prayers of a Parent. In the volume of prayers for adult children, she includes this one which is “For My Parent Heart.” It provides words that every parent can pray for themselves and for the children God has given them.

All I ask you for my child, O Lord,is all you’ve given to me, in Christ;there is no measure of your steadfast lovethat reaches to the heavens;I ask from out of my abundance in knowing you.
In all my asking, let me restin your great love and faithfulness;you are the Father in heavenwho provides a refuge for your childrenin the shadow of your wings;they feast on the abundance of your house;you give them drink from the river of your delights.I pray trusting your provision for my child,for I have tasted just how good is your provision.
My life, and my child’s lifeare not our own, but gifts from you,O God, who are yourself the fountain of life.What grace, that you should give me lifeand let me nurture another, given by you.What most amazing grace,that you should bring life to a soul that’s dead,through your own Son,light of the world, the light of life.
I thank you that you call your children, Lord,to faith in Christ your Son, our Savior,and to a home where we will feast forever, with you.

I’m very grateful to the Reformed Free Publishing Association who sponsored the blog this week so they could let you know about their new picture book The Ten Commandments for Children–a book that teaches kids to love God from the heart.

Last weekend I read Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Elon Musk. Musk is an interesting, significant, and polarizing figure. It is perhaps a bit odd to write a biography of him when is only in his early 50s and has begun far more than he has completed. Isaacson presents him as a man who is driven to save the world before it collapses due to warfare, climate change, or runaway technology. But I don’t think he satisfactorily proves that Musk isn’t actually driven by his own grandiosity. Whatever the case, he is clever, driven, impressive, extremely hard-working, and woefully immoral.
You’ll find a good selection of Kindle deals today.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Devoted Mind)
How Should Christians Think About The Attack Upon Israel? (Video)
I benefited from watching this panel discussion from SBTS which featured Al Mohler, Tom Schreiner, and Ayman Ibrahim. Even if you don’t agree with all the positions, you’ll still learn a lot, I think.
Hamas Is Borrowing Tactics from the Amalekites
Peter Leithart explains how Hamas and many other militants borrow tactics from the ancient Amalekites. “Hamas isn’t Amalek. Hamas isn’t literally under Yahweh’s ban and curse. And Hamas certainly isn’t the same as the Palestinian people. Thousands of Palestinians are Christians, and many Muslim Palestinians oppose Hamas and its violence. To compare Hamas to Amalek isn’t to justify or even suggest genocide.”
Hamas and Israel War Leaves Christians in the Crossfire
This article reminds us that, though Christians in Israel and Palestine are few, they are present. That being the case, we ought to be in prayer for brothers and sisters in both places.
Listen, Don’t Critique
“One of the biggest problems in Reformed churches, I believe, is that people come to church to critique the sermon rather than listen to it.” Very true. This article explains why we should come to listen rather than critique.
The Sufficiency of Christ when Life is Dry
Doug Eaton: “When God gives us victory in doing His work, it is easy to see ourselves as stronger than we are. So, the Lord often allows situations to arise that keep us dependent upon Him. We often thank the Lord for His grace in times of triumph, but how often do we forget to thank Him for our times of defeat?”
Living With Dementia
“It is important that Christians and churches know how to respond to those in their fellowships who are suffering from dementia and are able to come alongside those who are caring for them. Although this article is written about those with dementia, much of what is said also applies to other care situations.”
Flashback: Please Do & Please Don’t Assume Motives
When we look at other Christians—their beliefs, their words, their deeds—love calls us to assume the best rather than the worst.

God is never surprised; never caught off guard; never frustrated by unexpected developments. God does as He pleases and that which pleases Him is always for His glory and our good. —Jerry Bridges