I have benefited a lot from Greg Koukl’s books Tactics and The Story of Reality. And while I have undoubtedly forgotten much of their content, there are a number of takeaways that have stuck with me. The foremost is that when we speak to people who are not Christians, we have not failed if they make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. While that may be our ultimate desire for them, a good and noble goal for any spiritual conversation is to simply put a proverbial pebble in their shoe—to give them something to think about, something that will challenge their worldview, something that may nag at their souls in the days or weeks to come. Where some people understand evangelism only through a “harvesting approach” in which anything less than conversion means failure, the “gardening approach” means we are content to do the planting or watering, trusting that God may give someone else the joy of harvesting.

That approach is again on display in his new book Street Smarts, which is not quite a sequel to Tactics, but is still related to it. If you haven’t read Tactics you will benefit from Street Smarts, but if you have read the former, you’ll find that the latter furthers the principles with concrete teaching related to today’s foremost challenges to believing the gospel.
“There are few things that cause more nagging guilt for Christians than sharing their faith,” he says. “They feel guilt because they don’t witness enough. They don’t witness enough because they are scared. And they’re scared for good reason. Sharing the gospel and defending it—apologetics—often feels like navigating a minefield these days. For most of us, engaging others on spiritual matters does not come easy, especially when people are hostile.” And this is the reason we tend to “stay off the streets.” Just as we avoid parts of a city where we feel unsafe, we avoid contexts and situations in which we feel especially vulnerable.
The purpose of Street Smarts is to provide training that will equip readers to address the most common contemporary challenges to their convictions. It is to give Christians a greater degree of confidence as they engage with people who do not share their Christian faith and who may be antagonistic toward it. The way Koukl does this is not to provide responses to every criticism or answers to every question. Rather, he teaches a technique that he has used for years and taught to many others. Those who have read Tactics or been to one of his seminars will recognize it as his “Colombo” technique. Where in Tactics he addresses common objections to Christianity, in Street Smarts he focuses on the larger issues that stand behind those objections—atheism, abortion, the supposed contradiction between science and faith, and so on.
His training consists of two parts. First, he explains the challenges and provides compelling answers to them. In this way, the reader comes to understand not only common concerns and appropriate responses but also the weaknesses inherent in the common positions. Second, he shows how to make use of the knowledge of those weaknesses to tactfully expose them in a precise way. This is meant to give Christians shrewd but gentle confidence in their engagements with skeptics. “Simply put, he says, I want to make a hard job easier for you—much easier. I am going to show you how to maneuver effectively and comfortably in conversations using questions to answer the challenges you face as a Christian. I will give you both the content you need and the plan necessary to employ it. By confronting the giants one by one, I will shrink them down to size for you. I will show you how to make the case that the Christian view of reality is true.”
How effectively does he do this? Quite, I would say! The book would fail if it was meant to teach a specific response to each challenge to the gospel. That would simply be too much content to remember when it was needed. The reader would have to remember a precise series of facts, know when to bring each one to bear, and be left silent when the conversation didn’t go his way—an issue we have probably all run into at one time or another in the past. But Koukl teaches a technique, a way to listen attentively and then ask questions meant to expose flaws. This simplifies the task of the evangelist or apologist and accounts for fluidity in conversation.
Those who read this book will be better equipped to have productive “pebble in the shoe” conversations with people who hold to atheism, who insist that the existence of evil disproves the existence of God (or, at least, of a God who is good and merciful), who believe science and faith contradict one another, who spurn Christianity because it denies the morality of abortion, and who are convinced that Christianity is evil because of its positions on marriage, sex, and gender. They will be equipped to understand what the Bible says about those issues and to have productive conversations about them—conversations that will use respectful questions to expose flaws and, hopefully, promote further thought, further questions, and, potentially, saving faith. For those reasons among others, it is a book well worth reading.
Buy from Amazon

Good morning from Kitwe, Zambia, where I’ve settled in for what should be a great weekend of listening to stories and attempting to describe just some of what God is up to in this part of the world.

Westminster Books is offering a deep discount on the Lungaard trilogy. If you haven’t read a lot of John Owen, Lundgaard’s works are a great gateway. You may also want to tune in for season 4 of their podcast The Afterword.
It has been just a bit of a slow stretch for Kindle deals but I continue to add them as I find them.
What’s the Big Deal about a New Papyrus with Sayings of Jesus?
What’s the big deal with that new papyrus we’ve been hearing about? Text & Canon explains.
We Are Repaganizing
This article is not written by a Christian but still shares an interesting perspective on what society will lose as it turns from its Christian roots back to paganism.
Selflessness and Sorrow: The Unknown Life of Joseph Scriven
Even if you don’t know Joseph Scriven’s name, I expect you know his most famous song. His story is worth reading.
What does it look like to glorify God?
What does it look like to glorify God? Steven Lawson gives his perspective in this brief video.
But Joy Comes With the Morning
Brianna reminds us that as we endure through the night we can know joy comes in the morning.
Understanding India’s Fascination with Prosperity Gospel Teachers
Arvind Balaram shares an interesting insider’s perspective on why India has a fascination with the prosperity gospel.
Flashback: The Ministry of Being a Little Bit Further Along
No church can remain healthy when it falls to the elders to give and the members to consume. Rather, the work of ministry within a local church is the privilege and responsibility of each of the people who makes that church their own.

Of one thing I am perfectly sure: Gods story never ends with ashes. —Elisabeth Elliot

Good morning from Johannesburg, South Africa. I am here for just one night as I await a flight to Zambia where I will be settling in for a few days. So far the travel has been good and very bearable, and the jet lag has been manageable.

(Yesterday on the blog: If Satan Wrote a Book on Parenting)
Death and Dying: A Catechism for Christians
This is an outstanding resource on death, dying, and euthanasia.
The Secret to Loving Your Wife Better: Love Jesus Better
“I recently heard somebody say that one of the ways to endure well in ministry is to realize that ministry is not about you. It’s all about Jesus. The same is true of marriage. When you embrace that marriage is about Jesus first and you and your wife second, one of the secrets of a joyful, enduring marriage comes to light: love Jesus better, and you will love your wife better.”
Book Review by Nick Kennicott on: Rob Ventura’s New Commentary on Romans
Nick says, “This commentary will help busy students of the Word of God focus on the best of what’s available alongside a helpful, straightforward, practical, exegetical approach to the text.” (Sponsored Link)
When Your Visitors Do Not Return to Your Church
This article means to encourage church planters and revitalizers by explaining why visitors may not return to their church.
Why we are tempted not to pray
“Prayer should stupefy us. ‘You mean, this all-powerful God who keeps galaxies spinning is interested in you telling him about your day and might alter the course of the entire cosmos because you asked him if you could have a parking space?’ Yes.” If that’s true, why don’t we do it more and with greater confidence?
Ladies, Don’t Beat Your Pastors with the Rod of Titus 2
Bekka French has a caution for women based on Titus 2.
Don’t Miss Jesus in the Bible
It’s amazing to think this is even possible, yet it is: We can read the Bible while missing the key character in the Bible (and the whole point and purpose of the Bible).
Flashback: 5 Ways to Ruin a Perfectly Good Dating Relationship
Here are some ways I’ve seen people ruin what could have been a beautiful thing.

Pastors offer both: care in public worship and cure in private pastoral care as needed. —Harold Senkbeil

Some time ago I read an advice column that responded to a woman who had become disillusioned with her husband and enamored with someone else. And as I read it I thought to myself, “I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how Satan would counsel if he was asked.” That got me thinking about how Satan might function as a marriage counselor and also how he might function as a parenting expert. To that end…

If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would insist that children are primarily a lifestyle choice, a kind of accessory to life some people may choose and others may reject according to their own desires. He would insist that there is no intrinsic good in having children and that God doesn’t much care whether married couples choose to have them or not. He would want them to shrug off as quaint or antiquated the passages in Scripture that say things like “children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3) or the Creation Mandate that says, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). “It doesn’t matter what God wants,” he would say. “What matters is what you want.”
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want people who have children to feel superior to those who want to but cannot. He would want those who are unable to have children to feel that God must somehow be opposed to them or be punishing them and want them to believe that they are missing out on something essential to the good and God-honoring life. He would want such people to feel miserable while others held them as objects of pity or divine disfavor.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want people to regard children as mostly a bother, as a choice that tends to hamper happiness as much as it enhances or amplifies it. He would want parents to think more of the financial cost, the cost to a free and affluent lifestyle, or the cost to vocational progress. He would want couples to dread children even more than they desire them.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents who don’t regard children as a bother to regard them as the whole point and purpose of life, to treat them like little gods. He would want parents to form their entire identity around their children and to be held idolatrously captive to them.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would be sure to tell his readers that the world’s population is a problem, and that the earth is suffering because of the number of human beings who inhabit it. Therefore, humanity ought to do its best to suppress the birthrate, and to have smaller families rather than larger ones. He would want people to hesitate to have children at all and to feel a sense of guilt and remorse should they choose to have them. “The most responsible people choose not to procreate,” he would say. “You need to think about this faltering planet.”
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to believe that there is no great benefit to raising children in the context of a family, much less a traditional family made up of one man married to one woman, covenantally bound together for life. He would insist that children can be equally conceived and birthed in any number of ways, to any combination of people, for any given reason.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to think that a genetic link between parents and their children is so important that they should not even consider adopting children. He would want them to regard biological children as intrinsically superior to adopted children. He would love to hear people express that adoption is too dangerous, too uncertain, and too disruptive to even consider.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to believe that their children’s defiance is simple, sinless, and inconsequential. He would want parents to tacitly believe that children are born in a state of innocence rather than sinfulness and that parents should express no great concern when their children defy them, rebel against them, and act out against them. After all, “kids will be kids.”
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to believe it is best to refrain from disciplining their children. Though the Bible may say “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart,” (Proverbs 29:17) Satan would insist that children have no need of consistent discipline. To the contrary, he would insist that consistent discipline will hurt them, harm them, or possibly even destroy them. He would insist that any discipline, and especially physical discipline, is tantamount to abuse.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want you to believe that if you do choose to discipline your children, it is best to flex some muscle and lay a good beating on them. He would want you to think that they respond best to the fear of your fury. He would want you to set aside self-control in your discipline and to hit them hard, to hit them frequently, and to hit them without mercy. He would not want you to consider the contradiction that you shouldn’t discipline them, but when you do, you should discipline them abusively.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want you to raise them in strict accordance with law rather than gospel, with strict rules rather than free grace. He would want parents to physically discipline them, then abandon them in their pain and misery, wondering how they can once again earn their parents’ favor. He would never want the consequences of their sin to lead to a discussion of the gift of God’s forgiving grace through Christ.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want people to believe that it is the task of children to teach their parents more than it is the task of parents to teach their children. He has ably presented in a host of modern shows and movies that children, by virtue of their youthful innocence and their greater ability to understand the modern world, have wisdom their parents lack. Parents, after all, are jaded by their many years and their antiquated experiences. They should humbly listen to their children and be taught by them rather than the opposite.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to know that they should prioritize their children ahead of their marriage. He would want parents to prefer their children to one another, to orient their lives around their children instead of around their marriage. Ideally, he would pit a husband against his wife and a wife against her husband in the raising of the children and in all their activities.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to believe that children must be kept constantly busy, and that they thrive best when they are enrolled in every extracurricular course and play on every team. He would want all of this activity to dominate the family’s time and attention. He would insist it’s best if the family reaches the end of the week and collapses with exhaustion because of all they have done.
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to prioritize participation in sports and activities ahead of participation in the local church. The church should take second or third place in their list of priorities. “There is time for that later in life; at this stage it is best to immerse them in activities and experiences. And if you’re worn out and need a day of rest, rest at home on Sunday.”
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want people to believe children are sexual creatures who need to have their sexuality awoken at a very early age. They should see many things, have many experiences, and consider many options and alternatives. He would love and laud a term like “gender assigned at birth.” “Let them see all kinds of expressions of gender and sexuality, let them ask who they are and how they would like to express themselves. Let them do this at the youngest age possible.”
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would prescribe that parents give their children early and unfettered access to electronic devices and social media platforms. “Let them use TikTok. Let them browse Instagram. Let them spend their days on Reddit. No harm will come.”
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want people to believe that children belong to society as much as to parents and that the government ought to have more of a say in their raising than their own parents. He would want society to regard family as a hindrance or even a danger to a child’s freedom of self-expression. “Let them be who and what they want at school and be certain you never tell the parents.”
If Satan wrote a book on parenting, he would want parents to be a little embarrassed about their faith in Jesus Christ, to think it’s best if parents don’t really raise their children in “the discipline and instruction of the Lord,” but instead help them keep their options open. “Don’t emphasize family devotions or you may just turn them off the faith; don’t read them the Bible before bed or they will think you’re a zealot; don’t insist they participate in the life of the church or they’ll someday turn against it all.”
Come to think about it, as I look at the world around me, I can’t help but wonder if Satan actually has written a book on parenting because it seems so many are obeying his instructions and following his advice…

Good morning from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where I’ve stopped just briefly as I make my way to Johannesburg, South Africa and, from there, to Kitwe, Zambia. I’ve got lots of miles still to go!

I forgot to mention that I added some Christian and general market Kindle deals yesterday. Eventually I’ll be looking for feedback on whether you’re enjoying the general market deals as well.
In Praise of the Tiny Church
“The tiny churches have so much more to offer God than we think. Many of us would consider a church of a dozen people to be hopeless. Many would claim that they should shut the doors and go elsewhere. But I have seen the greatness of God in the small places, in the few faithful members of little churches. Why would we ever believe that He only works where there are more people? Hasn’t He proven to us over and over again that He takes the small and the weak and He demonstrates His power in this way?”
Hey Christians: Let’s All Give Two Cheers For Nominalism
Here is an interestingly contrarian article about nominal Christians. “If you’re a Christian leader looking to evangelise, don’t celebrate the demise of nominal Christianity or seek to hasten it yourself, as if somehow that will give us a fresh slate. Churches and gospel faith die out completely in some parts of the world.”
Rob Ventura Interviewed on His New Commentary on Romans
RBNet Coordinator Mark Chanski interviews Rob Ventura about his new commentary saying that as he read it, the commentary reminded him of Spurgeon’s famous commentary on the Psalms entitled The Treasury of David. (Sponsored Link)
Gathering Application
This is a very helpful and challenging article about preachers and their application.
Why I’ve Stopped Using the Word “Gender”
Alan Shlemon explains why he has stopped using the word “gender” in conversations with others.
Man Shall Not Live by Online Bread Alone
“Friendship is the real thing. Social media is a supplement. The only reason social media gives you the feeling of friendship is because you already know what real friendship is.” Trevin explains why this matters to our participation in the local church.
Our Culture’s Unbelief (and Belief) in Sin
“Have you ever heard the adage, ‘Every day things change. But basically they stay the same’? The words first found my ears in the 1990s, in a song from the Dave Matthew’s Band. And I’d forgotten them until recently. Typically, these words suggest a sort of defeatism, a ‘stuckness’ in our life experience. But they might also help us discern our cultural moment by pointing out what we’re otherwise blind to.”
Flashback: The Song I Sing in the Darkness
Though the shepherd must lead his sheep into the darkness, lead them through an unknown valley, they will go, for he is with them. Their fears are soothed by his strength, their uncertainty by his presence.

If you have sensible parents, take them into your confidence in all the affairs of the heart. They will give you more good advice in one hour than you can get from all the world besides in five years. —De Witt Talmage

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

What Does It Mean to Own Your Sin?
What does it mean to own your sin? This article explains.
Faith Is Not Certainty
I appreciate Aubrynn’s ongoing writing about Christians who deal with scrupulosity and some of the specific challenges they face with their faith.
Let Suffering Lead to Gentleness, Not Bitterness
“As we suffer, and our bodies and hearts finally begin to recover from the richeting and shaking we’ve received, bitterness settles in easily as if it had always lived there inside us. Without any effort, our words are slightly sharpened to an edge from the cracks we’ve endured.”
Another commentary on Romans?
Brian Borgman writes, “Well, if that commentary was unique in its goal, easy to use, solid in content, helpful in format, rich in application, and sprinkled with the spices of the old paths, then you don’t have just another commentary on Romans, you have Expository Outlines and Observations on Romans by Rob Ventura.” (Sponsored Link)
Spiritually Hungry? The Church Service Is Your Main Meal
Kristen Wetherell asks, “What if I told you that your main spiritual meal isn’t meant to be your private devotional time with the Lord?”
Healthy Rhythms in a Godly Marriage
I guess the point of this one is not so much to establish these healthy rhythms, but to establish some, even if they don’t look quite the same.
We Need Every Word
“Spiritually speaking, I am my young son sometimes. I want to feast on the Bible passages I love, the ones that make me feel some note of pleasure or comfort. I want the reminders that I’m loved, the encouragements to hold fast, and the songs of praise that remind me of God’s faithfulness. I don’t always want the lists or the history or the stories that don’t seem to affect me.”
Flashback: The Greatest Burden of Leadership
The burden of responsibility is light compared to the burden of insufficiency, inability, or just plain failure. If all those other weights are heavy, this is the one that threatens to be crushing.

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

Infants are easily discontented. They cry when hungry, they cry when tired, they cry when uncomfortable, they cry when afraid. It often seems they cry for no reason at all! Toddlers are perhaps a little better, but they are still quick to fuss and complain, still quick to express every little sorrow and every minor dissatisfaction. It is only age and maturity that eventually allows children to endure discomfort without whining, tantrums, and hysterics.

If all of this wasn’t bad enough, children also fuss and protest when their parents correct their behavior—even behavior that might harm or kill them. Many a child has screamed and protested when their parents have scooped them into their arms just before they toddled into traffic or plunged into a pool. The Bible simply states what’s patently obvious when it insists “folly is bound up in the heart of a child.”
It’s not for nothing that the Bible describes Christians as children. We enter the Christian life as spiritual infants who act the part. We are immature and unformed. Like children, we are quick to grumble when we encounter difficult circumstances, quick to murmur when providence fails to grant what we desire. We may not quite demand that we be carried to heaven on Isaac Watt’s “flowery beds of ease,” but we may still gripe and moan when called to face a foe, to bear a cross, or to endure a thorn.
But time brings maturity. This maturity comes about in a few different ways. It comes as we gain a greater knowledge of the character and purposes of God and, with it, a deeper trust in him, a greater confidence in the kindness of his heart and the decrees of his providence.
This maturity comes about as our lives become increasingly bound up in Christ’s. We find that we long to be used by him, even at great cost to our own comfort. Just as Jesus had food to eat that his disciples knew nothing about—which is to say, just as Jesus found satisfaction in doing the will of God—so too for us. We gladly do without what we might otherwise desire in order to serve and please the Lord.
And then this maturity comes about by an increasing nearness to heaven through which our sights are ever-more set on paradise and the joys that await us there. We understand that the longer our lives continue, the less time we have to bear the pain, the fewer the years we are called to bear our sorrows before we finally release them forever. Weights that feel so heavy when we look down begin to feel light as we look ahead and see heaven’s gates ready to receive us, ready to welcome us in. We know we are almost home.
So, as we press on in the Christian life, as we advance from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity, we find joyfulness increasing even when our comforts are decreasing. We find ourselves cheerful in trials, content in persecution, submissive even when we meet with sore disappointment. Things that may have seriously disturbed us in former days are powerless to derail or severely distress us in our later days. God gives us a contentment that is beyond this world, beyond our very selves—a contentment that causes our hearts to soar far above our circumstances and to remain at peace.
Pray, then, that God would help you grow from milk to meat, from infancy to maturity. Pray that you would know God’s loving heart toward you, that your life would become ever more bound up in Christ’s, that you would set your eyes on things above. Pray that you would learn to endure even the sorest trials with trust in God’s character, with faith in God’s purposes, and with joy that all things are from him, through him, to him, and for him. To him be the glory.

Good morning. Grace and peace to you today.

I don’t (yet) have any new Kindle deals to mention today; however, if you didn’t check in over the weekend, be sure to look at Saturday’s very long list of both Christian and general market deals.
A Friend on the Trail of Tears: How a Baptist Missionary Became a Cherokee
This is a great telling of the inspirational life and ministry of Evan Jones who was a Baptist missionary to the Cherokee Indians.
Is the Lord’s Day the Christian Sabbath?
Christians differ on whether the Lord’s Day is the Christian sabbath. This article explains why some people do not believe it is. Whether or not you agree, it’s definitely a clear and thorough argument.
How to Waste Your Counseling
“We met with our counselor three times. I didn’t offer him much to work with. Mostly because I didn’t think there was much to offer. But also because I feared his judgment of me. He offered simple but helpful wisdom. We wouldn’t meet with another counselor for twelve years. At that point our marriage was on the brink of divorce.”
Q&A With Rob Ventura on His New Commentary on Romans
Rob: What makes my commentary unique is that it is preacher-ready and preacher-friendly. In every section of Romans, I give a central theme, homiletical outline, exegetical and practical insights, and applications for believers and nonbelievers. (Sponsored Link)
The Failed Promise of Connected Note-Taking Apps
People like to make lofty claims of their apps, and especially connected note-taking apps. Reagan Rose explains why they can’t possibly live up to these claims.
What are your members doing?
Stephen likes to say things that will make you think. In this article he explains his position that adding staff members to a church is, in at least some ways, an admission of failure. You may not agree, but it’s worth hearing him out.
And When They Had Prayed…
You may identify with this admission that sometimes it seems way better to do something than to pray.
Flashback: The Glory of Children Is Their Fathers
While our ultimate desire is to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we all also want to hear our children say, “Well done, good and faithful dad” or “Well done, good and faithful mom.”

I am not tired of my work, neither am I tired of the world; yet, when Christ calls me home, I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school. —Adoniram Judson

It is another one of those Sundays in which I gathered so much good material for A La Carte that I thought it was only right to create an extra edition. So here is a Sunday A La Carte.

What Does Luke 9:23 Mean?
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” What did Jesus mean by this? And how do we apply it to our lives?
How I’m Teaching Colossians in Youth Group
This should be a helpful series from Youth Pastor Theologian. Various leaders are going to simply share what they are doing with their youth group at the moment. That’s a great way to get some fresh ideas!
To pursue contentment, don’t believe the lies of our culture
“Christians are called to be content, to be satisfied with what we have at the moment (in places like Phil 4:10-13). That’s an easy thing to say but a difficult thing to do. One of the reasons it is so difficult is that so much in our culture is pushing us to be discontent.”
What Does It Mean to Be a True Friend?
What does it mean to be a true friend? And what does it have to do with pressure washing a driveway? Read on to find out.
3 Things You Should Know about the Song of Solomon
There is so much that could be said about the Song of Solomon that a mere three things seems entirely inadequate. But these are at least three very important and helpful things.
Slow Down and Ordain Elders Carefully
This is very wise counsel: slow down and ordain elders carefully lest you rush and learn to regret it.

I’m so grateful to Burke Care for sponsoring the blog this week. They invite you to schedule care today with a certified biblical counselor.

Today at Westminster you can save on Rosaria Butterfield’s new book (foreword by Kevin DeYoung): Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age.
Today’s Kindle deals include newer and older Christian books as well as extensive list of general market history and biography.
(Yesterday on the blog: Remaking the World)
I Set My Hope On Jesus (Hymn for a Deconstructing Friend)
Here’s a new hymn from Matt Boswell & Matt Papa that I think you’ll enjoy. They have also just released an EP with several excellent tracks that you can find on your favorite music app.
Why we aren’t as bad as we could be
“We know that bad things happen in the world around us. But we also know that things could be a lot worse than they are. We know that all people sometimes say, do, and think terrible things—including Christians. But we also know that no one is as terrible as they could be.” Why is this?
The Day I Lost My Marbles
Stephen tells about the day he lost his marbles (quite literally) and then draws out an important lesson from it.
The plateau curve
I think Rush Witt makes some important points here about pastors and longevity in their local churches. Basically, he encourages them to be willing to step aside when the time is right.
How Can I Become a Humbler Calvinist?
John Piper offers counsel on becoming a humbler Calvinist.
Want Rest? Start with a Humble Heart
Meanwhile, also on the subject of being humble, Sarah Hauser explains the connection between humility and rest. “Sometimes praying for rest is like praying for patience. If you’ve ever prayed for patience, maybe you’ll know what I mean. When I need to be more patient (pretty much all the time), what I really want is for God to shower me with loads of supernatural patience. … But my experience has been that instead of being infused with patience like I’m on an IV drip, what God often does is provide opportunities where I can practice patience. I want the quick fix, but God wants deep heart transformation.”
Flashback: Six Reasons Why Adultery Is Very Serious
Why is adultery such a serious matter. Christopher Ash provides six reasons in his book Married for God and I am going to track with him as we go.

Dear praying believers, be of good cheer. God will either give you what you ask, or some thing far better. Are you not quite willing that he should choose for you and me? —Robert Murray M’Cheyne