The God of peace be with you, my friends.
Westminster Books is offering $20 off a new book meant to help you better understand Covenant Theology.

“I’ve always thought of hospitality as opening my home to outsiders. And, of course, hospitality is not less than that . But as I’ve pondered this topic over the past few weeks, it has occurred to me that I I need to start my journey of hospitality with the people who make up my innermost circle. Hospitality to outsiders will be both hollow and shallow if I don’t practice it with my own family first.”

This is a very good question: What happens when the governing authorities are the ones who have done wrong? “The best available estimate is that 57 percent of wrongful convictions involved some type of government misconduct. Those 1,927 cases involving misconduct resulted in incarceration of men and women for a combined 19,976 years. In biblical terms, the sword of the state was wielded by wrongdoers against the innocent.”

This article explains a new report about transgender medications for kids.

Dane Ortlund celebrates Jesus Christ by offering 100 different “facets” of who he is.

Amy Shore: “The average married couple realizes at some point in their marriage that their spouse will not meet all their needs. As a single woman, I have learned in a different school. God has used Spiritual Mothers to teach me this lesson. Spiritual Mothers are a gracious provision in our lives given by God to both meet needs and to point us to Christ.”

For those who are interested in doing some theological reading, there is a new issue of Themelios that is free to read. It has 262 pages of editorials, articles, and book reviews. The best article title is “Swimming in a Sanctimonious Sea of Subjectivity.”

It’s wrong of me to make light of their little sorrows by comparing them to their future greater sorrows. It’s right of me to support them as they build the strength and endurance that will carry them into and through the trials to come.

When you are struggling with anxiety, you must talk to and relate to God. There is no other way to experience lasting, abiding change, for this is the only way to change our hearts.
—Tim Lane

Good morning. Grace and peace to you today.

Crossway has some new Kindle deals for you to check out.
Logos users, the annual 12 Days of Logos sale has begun and is offering some good deals.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Ship Is Always Sailing On)
Father In Every Way But One
This is some excellent creative-devotional writing.
Fiscal Hilarity
There are some good thoughts here on generosity. “Years ago I decided that I would try to give more every year. I’ve not done this perfectly nearly every year since that little whimper of a desire was voiced to God. It wasn’t a vow and I’m under no obligation, but I am free to do it. Jesus never puts down radical givers. Remember the woman who gave all she had to live on?”
Snow
Rebecca VanDoodewaard reflects on the joy, beauty, and symbolism of snow.
The Good News Story
The Gospel is the air we breathe and need to breathe again and again. Whether you are just starting your journey of faith or have been traveling the road for years, discover how it all ties together in The Good News Story. Explore the Bible cover-to-cover to behold the grace, wonder, beauty, goodness, joy, and love of God in the person and work of Jesus! Watch and download this multi-video series and illustrated study guide for free at thegoodnewsstory.com. (Sponsored Link)
Somebody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen
“God the Son, ‘Immanuel,’ is not just a specialist; he is a sympathizer. He never just diagnoses and prescribes; he comes, draws near, feels, and cares. Not a truth merely for those perceived to be especially weak or victimized, this is gospel truth for every single one of us.”
“How Do I Decide Where to Go?”: Four Questions to Answer that Important Question
This will prove valuable to those who are wondering if/where the Lord is calling them to go.
Let us rediscover the power of forgiveness
Yes, let’s…
Flashback: Sin Is Immaturity
Sin is transgression, disobedience toward a known law or standard. Sin is iniquity, premeditated rebellion against God. And lately, especially as I’ve been examining my own life, I’ve also been seeing sin as immaturity. Sin is a failure to grow up.

We are so used to the patience of God that we are more stunned by his judgments than we are by his forbearance. —Jackie Hill Perry

In the name of God, I, being of sound mind and body, bequeath to my children the small store of wealth and the few possessions I have been able to accumulate over a lifetime of labor. I divide these equally among my children and ask them to accept it all with my blessings—to keep it or to give it away as they see fit.

Of infinitely greater value, I bequeath to them all the fervent prayers I have made for their salvation and their sanctification—prayers I began to pray before they were born and prayers I continued to pray until the day of my death.
I bequeath to them the Christian religion that has encouraged and sustained me for so many decades. This is the faith that has given me so much joy and comfort since Christ became my Lord and Savior, the faith they heard from my lips and the faith they learned by my example. I trust that it will bless them every bit as richly as it has me.
I bequeath to them the love of a father who, though imperfect, loved them truly and purely—who loved them in a pale but purposeful imitation of the perfect love of the perfect Father.
I bequeath to them the hope that they may imitate whatever in me was true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise. And equally I bequeath to them the hope that they may eschew any errors I made, that they may avoid the sins they saw in me, that they may be holier and godlier than their father ever was.
I bequeath to them the sure confidence of a glorious family reunion when their pilgrimage, like mine, comes to its end and when together we shall meet again to inherit riches innumerable and eternal.
And finally I bequeath to them the one possession that symbolizes all of this—the Bible we read from through so many years of family worship. May it remind them of the days we gathered as a family to read and to pray, and may it continue to be a lamp to their feet and a light to their path that illumines the way to heaven.
In the name of the God who created me, the Savior who redeemed me, and the Spirit who sanctifies me—the triune God whom I call as witness—I make this a Christian father’s last will and testament.

Inspired by The Wedding Ring by De Witt Talmage