This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Reformed Free Publishing Association, who also sponsored the blog this week with their article “The Ten Commandments for Children.” They are offering a free copy of The Ten Commandments for Children to each of ten winners.

Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
The Ten Commandments for Children is a resource you can use with your family to teach your children how they can show their love for Jesus.
How to Use the Book
As Curriculum: If you are looking for a curriculum to teach your children ages six to nine about the Ten Commandments, author Ron Cammenga has given you a great tool with this book.
Each chapter includes the main heading, “Let’s Listen and Learn.” Here the author defines the commandment; provides examples of how characters from the Bible kept or broke the commandment; and teaches children how we keep the commandment, both positively and negatively. So for the sixth commandment, children are taught that they must not be selfish or prone to fight and argue with others; but instead be kind, peaceful, and loving, even to their enemies.
As a Devotional: the author also wrote this book to be used as a devotional. Here are four features found in each chapter that will help you bring your children closer to Jesus as your family gathers for daily devotions.

Let’s Read the Bible: a short Scripture passage to read with your children to introduce them to the commandment
Let’s Learn a Bible verse: a short Scripture children can memorize in order to recall the teaching of the commandment later, such as Psalm 122:1 for the fourth commandment, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
Let’s Talk it Over: discussion questions that will encourage children to recall what they’ve learned and then apply the commandment to their own lives
Let’s Sing: a related psalm to sing as a family, such as Psalm 100 for the first commandment and Psalm 15 for the eighth commandment

If you have children or grandchildren, Ten Commandments is a great devotional you can use to close out summer evenings or start school days off right.

What Others Are Saying About the Book
“At first glance, I loved the beautiful and colorful illustrations…Often children’s Bible books take a significantly simplified and surface-level approach to scriptures in an effort to make sure children can understand the text. However, while this book does break things down into understandable terms, it goes very deep into the commandments and explains them in a way that brings children to a deeper understanding…Overall, I thought this was a well-written book that is an excellent tool for helping younger children come to a deeper understanding of the Ten Commandments. It is colorful and engaging while still being Biblically sound and instructional.” (Dawn Peluso, The Schoolin’ Swag Blog)
“It took our family about 10 minutes to go through a chapter for our devotions after dinner, including reading, discussion, singing and prayer. The text of each chapter is simple enough that my six- and eight-year-old were able to grasp the main idea and come up with answers to the discussion questions (if they were paying attention), yet complex enough that my husband and I found it to be edifying as well. Reading through this book guided us to discuss with our children why and how we are called to live as God’s people in a way that we have not before. If you have elementary aged children, I highly recommend purchasing this book to use in your family worship.” (Abby Van Solkema, The Left Fork)
“The foundations of living a good life are contained in the Ten Commandments. It’s the ultimate addition to the Bible itself in being Godly and an excellent beginning to ensuring our children are living the best that they can. My grandsons enjoyed the book and the questions. It was enjoyable to see my older grandson respond to the questions and listen to his thought processes. The illustrations reminded me of books when I was young.” (Judy Joyce, Embracing a Healthy Family)
Would you like a copy of Ten Commandments to share with your children and grandchildren for years to come? Enter our giveaway below for a chance to win one of ten free copies!
To Enter 
Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. When you enter, you agree to be placed on Reformed Free Publishing Association’s email list. The winner will be notified by email. The giveaway closes on October 20, 2023, at midnight.
Don’t want to wait for the giveaway, or maybe you’d like more than one copy? You can purchase The Ten Commandments for Children here. Subscribe to the Reformed Free Publishing Association email list on their website homepage to be notified of sales, news, and upcoming children’s book releases.

We make a lot of all the distractions that come with life in the modern, always-on, electronic world. And certainly it can be hard to have minds that remain focused for any significant stretch of time before the next beep, the next buzz, the next little burst of dopamine. Yet we do not need to look far into the annals of church history to find that distraction—and especially the kind of distraction that keeps us from being spiritually minded—has always been a challenge and that God’s people have always had to take action against it.

Centuries ago, John Owen wrote a book about issues like this. The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded is not one of his better-known works, though perhaps it should be. But there is a legitimate concern when it comes to reading it today: while Owen’s works were never particularly easy to read, the intervening years have made them harder still. Some of his language has become antiquated and many of his illustrations have become opaque. Thankfully, Kris Lundgaard has done us a service by bringing the best of Owen’s old work into modern times in The Devoted Mind. This is the third time Lungaard has done this with Owen’s books, with the others being The Enemy Within and The Glorious Christ (the first two of which have just been reprinted so the trio now has a consistent and contemporary cover design).
This is not a line-by-line paraphrase of the original work as much as it’s a thematic update or modernization. Lundgaard represents the content of the book under three dominant themes or motifs—the devoted mind, the seeking of God’s face, and the Beloved. By devoted he means a mind that has been set apart to the Lord and given over to him and his service. By seeking God’s face he refers to the pursuit of God’s intimate presence and to the sense of closeness or personal knowledge we can have of God in which we experience a deep assurance of his love and acceptance. And by the Beloved he refers to our Triune God—the one who is the object of the devoted mind and the one whose face or presence we most earnestly seek.
The book, then, traces those motifs in order. “This book,” he says “is about what it means to be spiritually minded, how we grow in spiritual mindedness, and what fruit of spiritual mindedness we can expect to enjoy.” Much of the teaching involves three related and progressive acts of devotion—contemplating God with the mind which then leads to an inclination toward him and a satisfaction in him. And to foster that kind of labor—and, make no mistake, there is labor involved—Lundgaard includes an extensive section at the end of each chapter meant to promote reflection and praxis. Those who really wish to grow in their devotion will want to linger on this section for it “isn’t a set of exercises for overachievers; it’s meant to guide the real mind-work and heart-work of consolidating the ideas of the chapter where they must be consolidated: in our prayers and meditations, in our worship and conversation, in our contemplation of God and communion with Christ.”
The purpose of Owen’s book, and therefore the purpose of Lundgaard’s, is to draw our attention to the Beloved—to the triune God. It is to draw our attention to him not so we can admire him from a safe and comfortable distance, but so we can truly draw near to him. That practice, and therefore this book, will take some effort, but it is effort that will be richly rewarded.
Buy from Amazon

I’ve got a couple of book deals to mention today.

First, Westminster Books is offering a discount on the excellent Ask the Christian Counselor series of short books. The various titles cover a range of important topics and are a good resource for counselors and pastors.
Meanwhile, 10ofThose is having a fall sale with lots of good books discounted. They include the new book by David Gibson, The Lord of Psalm 23, as well as some geared toward Christmas.
And then, of course, you’ll also find a few good Kindle deals.
And now some links…
Maturity requires suffering
“If you want to mature, you’re going to have to suffer. Actually, that’s not quite right. You are going to suffer, that’s the nature of life under the sun. Some of that will be petty, some of it will be serious, and (heaven-forfend) some of it will be so psychologically scarring that you’ll be getting over it for a long time.”
The Light Never Fades
Kristin is just slightly out ahead of Aileen and me in life stage and I love to read her reflections on it.
10 Things You Should Know about the Holy Spirit
I have benefited a lot from Fred Sanders’ writing on the Holy Spirit–books like The Deep Things of God and articles like this one.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Advice for Members on Church Plants
If you are thinking of going on a church plant, or have to in the future, this article may help provide you with some clarity.
An Invalid for Thirty-Eight Years
In John 5, Jesus heals a man who has been an invalid for 38 years. That seems like an oddly specific number. Mitch Chase looks into the biblical data to see if there could be some significance there. (For what it’s worth, I’m not convinced, but it’s still interesting to consider.)
What Does the Roman Catholic Church Believe About Justification?
It’s important to know what the Roman Catholic Church believes about justification. And almost no one has better taught that than R.C. Sproul.
Flashback: What’s the Purpose of … Baptism?
We are justified by faith — not by baptism. And yet, those who are justified by faith are commanded to proclaim their salvation by being baptized. In baptism we obey the great and final commission given by our Lord.

So completely was Jesus bent upon saving sinners by the sacrifice of Himself, He created the tree upon which He was to die, and nurtured from infancy the men who were to nail Him to the accursed wood. —Octavius Winslow

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Those who hunt for Kindle deals will find another small collection today.
(Yesterday on the blog: How Joni Eareckson Tada Blessed Me (Forty Years Ago))
The Joy of Knowledge
Have you ever noticed that greater knowledge is often the key that unlocks greater enjoyment? This article explains it well.
‘No’ to Trans, ‘Yes’ to Gay Marriage: Will This Be the New Normal?
Glen Scrivener: “More and more, public aspects of British society are expressing a skeptical no to key aspects of the trans movement. And yet, however much people might feel it to be a return to ‘common sense,’ this isn’t a return to a Christian vision. Not yet.”
Random Thoughts About Unity In The Church
Kyle offers some helpful thoughts here about unity in the church. “As a churchman, it breaks my heart to see brothers separated and divided over issues in many of our congregations, presbyteries, and denominations. I have friends from all over the Reformed World and many of us are dealing with issues. I want to give some general thoughts about our present needs.”
Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Confronting a Brother or Sister in Christ
Somewhat related, here are ten questions to ask yourself before you confront another person about their sin.
“Did Jesus and the apostles preach the right doctrine from the wrong Old Testament texts?” (Video)
You’ve probably heard before that Jesus and the Apostles preached sound doctrine but did so from texts they misused. G.K. Beale responds to that idea in this short video.
You Are Not Invisible to God
Sylvia Schroeder writes poignantly here. “My daughter, in her power chair changes how I look at others. People once invisible to me, catch my eye now. I can see them with my heart.” She describes an example of that very thing.
Flashback: Positive Purity
Sexual purity is not ultimately about what to avoid, but what to pursue and what to enjoy. It’s about putting those old and ugly behaviors to death in order to free yourself to pursue the better ones. God wants to free you from sin so you can enjoy his gifts.

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him. —C.T. Studd

Joni Eareckson Tada has had a long and faithful ministry. I expect you are familiar with the basic outline of her story—how in 1967, when she was just 17 years old, she was involved in a diving accident that left her paralyzed. In the initial stages of her recovery she stewed in sorrow and self-pity and for a time sank into depths of darkness, despair, and depression. But over time she became convicted that her condition was God’s will. God did not mean for her to resent it, but to accept it, to embrace it, and to use it.

Though at first tempted to believe her great sorrow marked the end of her service to God, it actually proved to be the opening chapter of it. It spurred her to found Joni and Friends, a ministry that, for 45 years, has been serving people with disabilities. She has written a number of books, spoken before millions, and led many to Christ. She has been a blessing and inspiration to so many people for so many years.
But for all she has done publicly, I suspect her greatest impact may be through personal interactions. I have encountered many people who can tell stories of her words of kindness and acts of love—how she ministered to them when they were in times of distress. I am thankful that on a few occasions she has reached out to be a blessing and encouragement to me and that she was willing to write some kind words about Seasons of Sorrow. But let me tell you what means even more than her direct involvement in my own life.
In 1965 my aunt Nancy committed suicide after a long battle with mental illness. My grandfather was a Supreme Court judge who was prominent in Montreal, so her death became quite public. The musician Leonard Cohen, who had been part of Nancy’s circle of friends, wrote a popular song about her, and he and others blamed my grandfather for her death. There was shame heaped upon him and upon the family. Eventually, my grandfather also took his own life. This one little family had now suffered two huge tragedies.
Yet in all that pain God reached out and saved the unlikeliest of converts—my dad. And through my dad he saved my mom and several of my aunts and uncles. He also saved my grandmother. But those severe losses had, of course, left her scarred and devastated. And though her faith was genuine, she was involved in churches that offered few compelling answers to life’s big sorrows.
She was still quite a new and unseasoned Christian when she heard of a young lady named Joni who had written a bestselling book and whose story was now being told in a film. My grandmother decided to write Joni a letter to describe her circumstances and to express her distress and confusion. Maybe this young lady would understand. Maybe she would even return her letter and offer some sympathy and guidance.
And, sure enough, Joni did reply to her. In a lengthy and heartfelt letter, she encouraged my grandmother. She helped her. She blessed her. She drew her attention to the Lord. In the few years that remained to my grandmother, she often told what a blessing Joni had been to her.
I thought of this recently when focusing on Paul’s words in Philippians 3 where he instructs Christians to press on with a single-minded devotion. “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” he uses the metaphor of a race to tell believers to press on toward the goal—the goal that is the presence of Jesus Christ. And in that light, consider this: All the way back in the early 1980s, Joni ministered to my grandmother after the loss of her daughter. Forty years later, she ministered to me after the loss of my son. (And, of course, until I wrote these words, she would have had no idea of the connection…)
And this is what I so love and respect about Joni. For all these years she has been single-mindedly pressing on toward the goal and it’s clear that she does not intend to stop until she reaches it. There’s a stirring beauty in the fact that she is pressing on in a wheelchair, pressing on with a broken and weakening body, but a strong and growing faith. And she loves to tell people that when she reaches the goal and sees Jesus, she will finally leap to her feet, only to immediately fall on her knees to worship him—to worship the one she has been pressing toward all these years. What a day and what a moment that will be!

This week Westminster Books has a deal on a new book titled You Are Still a Mother that will be of comfort to many, I’m sure. They have a number of related titles on sale, including my own Seasons of Sorrow.

Psalms for Men Who Are Struggling
“The Psalms made no sense to me when I was in college because they sounded so bleak. Here were these compositions that were supposed to be so worshipful, but the Psalmists just spent too much time complaining about how hard life was. Now that I’m in my 40s, the Psalms resonate with me because in my frustration with the difficulties of life, I’ve said many of the things they say.”
Today’s Defining Question: What Is a Human?
Trevin Wax says, perhaps rightly, that the great theological battle of our day will be over anthropology. “What does it mean to be embodied? What do our bodies signify? What does our design say about our identity and purpose?”
Structured Song: a qualified appreciation of church hymnals
Andrew provides a qualified appreciation of church hymnals. “Much has been gained through the use of this new technology, but in this article I want to offer some appreciation for what hymnals brought and bring to the church, and how we could harness some of their benefits without necessarily sacrificing the help that technology has been to us in this area.”
Top Tips for Parents
There are some tips here that parents may find useful as they raise their children in a world like this.
On the Waves
I enjoyed this new poem “On the Waves” by Esther.
You Should Try Writing the Conclusion of Your Sermon First
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who finds it beneficial to write the end of a sermon before the beginning. It doesn’t always work out, but often it does…
Flashback: Longing for What’s Second Best
While we can and should pray for those things we long for, we should always pray that what we long for would be according to God’s will.

I’m convinced that there is nothing that can happen to me in this life that is not precisely designed by a sovereign Lord to give me the opportunity to learn to know Him. —Elisabeth Elliot

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you on this fine day.

Amazon has fabricated yet another couple of Prime Days. My main interest in it is Kindle deals, but unfortunately I couldn’t find too many. You can, however, find Kindle devices discounted today, along with board games, AirPods Pro, and lots of other stuff.
(Yesterday on the blog: Add a Little Extra Beauty)
5 Myths about Gender Identity
This article addresses 5 modern-day myths about gender identity.
Are Sinners Worthless?
“He respectfully asked how I could say that humans are worthwhile if the Bible tells us we’re worthless. I was thrown off guard, because I could see how I appeared to be directly contradicting Scripture.” After all, the Bible seems to say that human beings are both exceedingly valuable and exceedingly depraved.
Extraordinary Engineers (Video)
The John 10:10 Project has released another great little video, this one celebrating the humble bee.
On Leviticus and Living for God through Christ
“Leviticus is perhaps the most underrated book of the Bible. Despite its importance, it is often considered difficult to read and even more difficult to derive any benefit. I hope to contribute to changing that perspective.” Good idea!
He Leads Me Beside Still Waters
“Sometimes … I can only view God’s sovereignty through the lens of suffering. When things are hard or there is some trial in my life, I (rightly) turn to God and confess that He is right in how He orders His universe. He is not simply aware of the trial, but He is over it too. Where I struggle to apply the truth of God’s total sovereignty is in His goodness.”
The Pastoral Training of a Growing Up in a Christian Home
I appreciate this celebration of growing up in a Christian home. “What I realize now is that the Lord had begun depositing ministry insights into my soul years before through the lives of my parents. Both of my parents are committed followers of Jesus and faithful servants in his Church, who, in both the deeply spiritual moments of conversation about God’s Word and in the relatively mundane moments, were sowing seeds of pastoral development.”

Flashback: What I Love To Ponder at 10:01 AM on Sunday Morning
For one day—one day out of the week—the whole earth will have joined to give God the honor due his name.

Our high and privileged calling is to do the will of God in the power of God for the glory of God. —J.I Packer

This week the blog is sponsored by Reformed Free Publishing Association. This post is about their brand new picture book, The Ten Commandments for Children, written by Prof. Ron Cammenga and illustrated by Ana Sebastián.

Jesus Christ is glorified when we obey Him. That is what Jesus meant when he told his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Because we love our Savior and we want to bring glory to his great name, we live according to his law—by keeping the Sabbath day holy, avoiding theft and murder, telling the truth, and all the rest. We want our children to show the world their love for Jesus, and so we teach them to obey God’s law, too, even from a young age.
But what is harder to explain to our children, and what we can often forget, is that there is so much more to keeping God’s law than following a list of do’s and do not’s. God sees and knows our hearts.
We might bring the whole family to church each week, but God knows where our minds actually are on Sunday morning. Our children might not swipe the gadgets from Best Buy that are small enough to fit in their pockets, but God sees the bitterness and envy they harbor toward friends and classmates who always seem to have the latest device connected to their air pods.
Truly keeping God’s law is so much more than external obedience. Truly keeping God’s law is loving him and loving others from the heart.

If you are looking for a resource you can share with your family to explain and apply this truth, consider The Ten Commandments for Children by Ronald Cammenga. This new children’s book from the Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) explains and applies each commandment in language that kids understand. In two to three chapters, it covers what God forbids—the negative side of each commandment—and what he requires—the positive.
The book is made up of 28 two-page chapters that can be used either as lessons or devotions on God’s law. Here is the layout of the book:

Chapters 1–2 introduce the law of God
Chapters 3–6 explain why God has given us his law
Chapter 7 teaches about love, the summary of the law
Chapters 8–28 present each commandment in two to three chapters, focusing first on what is forbidden in each commandment (the negative) and then what is required (the positive)

This book is the first in a three-part series by the author, Prof. Ron Cammenga of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
If you have children or grandchildren, Ten Commandments would make a great devotional to close out the summer or start the school year off right.
“The book is designed not just to be read to them,” says the author, “but also to serve as a devotional you can use with your kids in the morning before they go off to school.”
Kids and parents alike will also appreciate the beautiful full-color illustrations by Ana Sebastián, a digital illustrator based in Madrid, Spain.

Here are a couple of excerpts from chapters 24 and 25 that demonstrate the positive and the negative applications of the ninth commandment.
From Chapter 24, “Do Not Lie!”
A lie is a deliberate untruth. You know what the truth is. But you deliberately change the truth.
Often people lie to cover up a sin or avoid punishment. How often haven’t you done that? You were being mean to your sister or brother, but when your mother asks you about it, you lie. You deny that you said or did anything mean.
From Chapter 25, “Speak the Truth in Love!”
We must speak the truth that God is the only true God, that God’s word is truth, that God’s Son Jesus is the only Savior. We must also speak the truth about ourselves—never lying to impress people with how great we are. And we must speak the truth about others so that we never put them down or make them look bad. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 12:22, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.”
Let’s teach our children to glorify their only Savior, by keeping his commandments from the heart.
You can purchase your copy of The Ten Commandments for Children here. Subscribe to the Reformed Free Publishing Association email list on their website homepage to be notified of sales, news, and upcoming children’s book releases.