I am off to Kansas City today—a very brief visit to speak at MBTS. I hope to meet some of you there!

There was a huge list of Kindle deals yesterday and there is another good one today. Have at it!

I love the videos from the John 10:10 project. The latest one looks at penguins.

And speaking of birds, here’s at why Jesus spoke about birds when he told us how to combat anxiety. “Imagine waking up each morning with a constant knot in your stomach, worrying about what the day will bring—will you have a job, will you have enough, will you measure up, or will things fall apart? For many, the imagination is not necessary; this is your reality. Well, you’re not alone in this.”

Rachel considers her experience as a schoolteacher in relation to Jesus’ love for children. “Hugs galore. The other day I was curious, wondering how many hugs I get from my 2nd graders on average. I was thinking maybe ten or fifteen, but I was wrong. Aim a little higher and you will hit the target of 20-30 hugs per day.”

I enjoyed this look at the bread motif we find throughout the Bible. “I feel like this is a biblical theme—along with its counterpart of wine—which is not considered often enough. There are few ‘biblical theologies’ which consider hospitality as one of the primary threads of the Bible. Fewer which chart bread and wine as key signs, symbols, metaphors, and ‘meanings you can eat’ throughout the Bible’s story. We should probably publish some more.”

“What about the ordinary and mundane tasks of the homemaker? Can they possibly be more than they are? the making of breakfasts, of lunches and dinners, the folding of laundry, wiping of counters, changing of diapers, the picking up, and the dropping off. Can these have meaning beyond the day after day ‘sameness?’”

Kendra Kammer explains some of what she has learned about leading a women’s ministry.

‘I cannot come’ is the alleged reason, but ‘I will not come’ is the real one; for when the heart is true the duties of the farm never interfere with the privileges of the feast, nor is it ever found that there is any necessary antagonism between family joys and the joy of the Lord.

The best way of manifesting our affection to our friends is by praying and giving thanks for them.
—Matthew Henry

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

It’s a holiday here in Canada (as well as in the US, as I understand it). So I’m taking it easy by posting only A La Carte today instead of also posting a new article.

Today’s Kindle deals include a lot of different books that range across many different publishers, authors, and topics.

Mark Vance offers some guidance for those whose dating relationship has begun online. “Whether the couples first ‘meet’ each other on Instagram or pursue a relationship through a dating app, our digital world is reshaping how we date and whom we marry. As I counsel those seeking to wisely navigate online dating, I offer a few principles to guide them.”

“I have worshiped a bag of chips. I have also worshiped a bowl of yogurt with the right number of macros. I have worshiped an hour of uninterrupted sleep. I have worshiped a number on the scale.  I have worshiped a number in my bank account. … And on and on the list goes.”

What a tragic and misguided statistic! “For every American who believes they’re going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they’re going to Heaven.”

“Unconfessed sin causes more damage inside us than simple regret or guilt. No matter how staunchly defended or tightly guarded, it poisons our thoughts and skews our perspective.”

We are accustomed to saying that face-to-face communication is necessarily superior to the alternatives, but Mikey Lynch offers a few cases in which that may not be true. Church leaders should take note.

Dan writes about a few of the sins we may be tempted to ignore or justify.

Where are you tempted to lower your guard? Where are you allowing the world just a crack into your heart and your mind? This may be the means through which you are being conformed to the world.

Unless God is rightly taught and highly honored, our ministries are nothing more than glorified babysitting services.
—Sam Luce & Hunter Williams

People of all faiths pray. Some pray to gods, some to ancestors, some to nature, and some to the universe, but all speak out words, all utter desires, all hope to be heard. But Christians pray differently and Christians pray confidently, for we pray to a Father. We alone “have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15). Jesus taught us to begin our prayers with the precious words “Our Father.”

This changes everything about the way we pray, for we are not appealing to an impersonal universe or a powerless rock. We are not appealing to an ancestor who has already lived and died and returned to the dust. We are not appealing to a deity who is cold and indifferent to us. We are not appealing to a god who has no interest and no time. Rather, we are spending quality time with a Father—a gracious Father who “in love… predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:4-6).

As H.B. Charles reminds us, “Prayer is not a scheduled appointment with a busy executive. It is quality time with a loving Father.”

I’m grateful to B&H for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their new Church History Handbook. It’s a beautiful and informative book so be sure to give it a look!

Today’s Kindle deals include a few commentaries and other good books.

(Yesterday on the blog: Keep Calm and Stay Friends)

Even one bitter thought can have great power. “A weed starts off very small, just like any other plant. It may seem harmless in the beginning but if a weed is never properly dealt with, it has potential to destroy a whole garden. A bitter thought starts the same.”

The Gettys and Sandra McCracken have just released a rewritten and lengthened adaptation of “Here Is Love, Vast as the Ocean.” I think you’ll enjoy it!

I really appreciate what Kyle Borg says here about polemics. “One of the most embarrassing moments of my life happened when I was a new seminary student. I had scheduled lunch with one of my professors, excited to talk theology and ask about preaching. As I got into his car and was buckling up, he said in his strong Scottish accent, ‘Kyle, I’ve seen how you interact on social media. If there were a degree for being argumentative, you’d be at the top of the class.’ I wanted to run, but the car was already moving, and I was stuck.”

“Suffering disrupts the normal. We feel disruption even in the small things like taking care of your children becoming taking care of their gravesite. The route toward their grave replaces the once familiar route to their school or sports field. Seeing their friends and the ones they are close to swaps with passing by the names of the other headstones that are now the ones close to your kiddo.”

Leonardo De Chirico has written an e-book on the Roman Catholic year of Jubilee. It is available as a free download from Gospel-Centered Discipleship. I was glad to write a brief foreword for it.

Casey shares “two insights that have helped me immensely in my own battle with temptation.” They are helpful insights.

…on those hard days when I face a list of many tasks, or on those days when I know I have to accomplish my least-favorite tasks, I challenge myself to simply love. To do is to love, to procrastinate is to fail to love.

The gospel is not wishful thinking. It’s not just optimistic or sentimental uplift. It’s the announcement of a fact.
—Michael Horton

This weeks giveaway is sponsored by B&H Publishing. They are giving away 3 sets of the Holman Handbook Series. Each set will include the Old Testament Handbook, New Testament Handbook, and the forthcoming Church History Handbook.

Why is history important? Most people rarely pause to consider this. Perhaps without realizing it, some have been conditioned to esteem the study of history as legitimate for reasons they cannot identify. Maybe it’s for the sake of preserving the human legacy for posterity. Maybe it’s because of a sense of patriotism and heritage for a given country or culture. Or maybe it’s mainly for the sake of meeting societal standards of what it means to be an educated and well-rounded individual. Many, however, will cite the famous George Santayana quote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  

While there is some validity to these reasons, we as Christians should approach the study of the past with an even more reverent mindset. If God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world, then he is also Lord of history, the one who declares “the end from the beginning and from long ago what is not yet done” and who says, “My plan will take place, and I will do all my will” (Isa 46:10). In short, history is coherent and meaningful because of God.  

The history of the church is both the history of God’s faithfulness and the history of our waywardness, much like the history of Israel that we find in the OT. Though beyond the book of Acts we do not possess a supernaturally inspired record of the church’s “warts and all” experiences and contributions, we nonetheless can learn from the records we have by measuring them according to Scripture. We will make mistakes like those who came before us, but the same God who preserved His people in the past will continue to preserve His people into the future.  

Accordingly, the contents of the Church History Handbook are intended to serve as a means to the end that is the Great Commission, namely, the preservation and empowerment of God’s people for their God-given mission of proclaiming the truth of the gospel to the world. By equipping the church in the present to learn from her past, we set her up to remain faithful into the future. As we study church history, may God be glorified in the church throughout all generations.  

“Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:20–21).  

To celebrate the release of the Church History Handbook, we would like to give away three sets of the Holman Handbook Series. Enter for your chance to win a 3-volume set of the Holman Handbook Series including the Old Testament, New Testament, and Church History Handbooks. The three winners will receive their copies once the Church History Handbook becomes available for shipping (after 4/15/25). Entries are limited to North America. 

It is hard to disagree with someone you love. It is harder still to disagree well—to retain genuine respect and true friendship despite differing opinions or convictions. And, as we all know by experience, there is just so much to disagree about.

The Art of Disagreement

But not all disagreements are bad. Gavin Ortlund says, “Without disagreement, life would be boring. Disagreement is where we discover opportunities for learning, freshness, new beginnings. Someone once said that you get married for your similarities, but you stay married for your differences. … Handled well, our disagreements can be both enjoyable and productive. They can deepen our relationships rather than destroy them—and can deepen us along the way.”

The trouble, of course, is that few of us are good at allowing our disagreements to better our lives or deepen our friendships. Instead, we find them threatening and use them as an excuse to distance ourselves from others. We even allow relatively minor disagreements to convince us we ought to part ways.

If you have read any of Ortlund’s books or watched any of his YouTube videos, you will have observed that he knows a thing or two about disagreements. He is not a controversialist and not the kind who likes to pick a fight. However, he does like to consider difficult topics and think them through thoroughly. His new book The Art of Disagreeing explains what he has learned about disagreeing in a distinctly Christian way.

It’s a simple book and a small one, but it packs a punch. In the first couple of chapters, he considers kindness and courage since he believes they are foundational virtues for any healthy disagreement. “Both are needed: kindness without courage is too flimsy; courage without kindness is too brash. Only by combining courage and kindness can we arrive at healthy disagreement.”

He then writes a chapter about the skill of listening and another about the skill of persuasion. Like courage and kindness, these two go hand-in-hand, for we can only persuade well when we have listened well. Both contain lots of specific instructions so that the book is not merely theoretical but eminently practical. And this matters because “underneath the deep disagreements of modern culture, there is often pain and fear. Instead of feeling only threatened by the vitriolic nature of many public disagreements, we can see an opportunity. People are aching for truth and meaning. If they are not persuaded by good ideologies, they will be persuaded by bad ones.”

Kindness without courage is too flimsy; courage without kindness is too brash.Gavin OrtlundShare

The final chapter is on the greatest of virtues: love. “Disagreement itself is not the problem. But what grieves me these days is the way we conduct our disagreements: without any sense of love for one another. In the worst cases, we display the same rancor and ‘cancel culture’ tactics of the world around us. If I could change one thing about public Christian discourse, it would be this: that all our disagreements, however vigorous, would be constrained and beautified by those two great teachings of Jesus … in John 13 about love and in John 17 about unity.” It is as we disagree in love that the world can see how much God has transformed us by his gospel.

I am tempted to say that today’s world gives us more to disagree about than at any other time in history. But I actually doubt that’s the case, for fallen humanity has always been disagreeable and always will be until the Lord returns. Until then, we can serve him best by disagreeing well. That is to say, we can serve him best in our disagreements if we follow the wisdom of a book like this one.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.

Westminster Books would like to introduce you to some missionary “Titans” you’ve never heard of before (and help you better understand the future of Reformed apologetics).

Today’s Kindle deals include He Will Hold Me Fast and Ryan McGraw’s A Divine Tapestry which is meant to help you grow in your knowledge of the Bible.

John Piper explains why the Bible says that baptism saves us.

Samuel James discusses some of the strengths and weaknesses of the “He Gets Us” campaign. “It’s obvious one of the goals of ‘He Gets Us’ is to cut across political and ideological divides. To some extent, they succeed. The writers know where the fault lines in American religious culture are—abortion, LGBT+, race, class, and so on And who could resist being moved by these images of human vulnerability and compassion? Who can push out of his or her mind the many moments in the Gospels where Jesus met such needs and taught his followers to do the same?”

The Church History Handbook is an elegant, full-color handbook with robust summary content, charts, infographics, maps, doctrinal studies, short biographies, and more—and it’s designed to last a lifetime. Pre-order through Lifeway.com and receive 40% off your order when you enter the promo code CHALLIES40. (Sponsored)

This is a fantastic article that will prove well worth your time. “For the last three years, I have wrestled with the fundamental problem of our age. To call it ‘autonomy’ would be too trite. Neither is it a ‘worldview’ because it’s something regularly lived out without any kind of stated ideology. It is rather an inside-out approach to life.”

Chad Van Dixhoorn explains why he wants churches to continue to send young men to seminary rather than taking online courses or opting out altogether.

“If you’re struggling with differences that seem insurmountable—whether in the early, middle, or later years of marriage—take heart. God’s work isn’t measured in days or weeks, but in years and decades. When we entrust our marriages to Him and choose patient love over immediate demands for change, we create space for His transforming work in both our lives.”

Phil Hunt lays out different ways you can pray for protection for the missionaries you know, love, and support.

If any goodbye may be final, then surely every goodbye should be loving. We should never part from those we love in a spirit of anger or bitterness, with sin unconfessed, frustrations unforgiven, or misunderstandings unresolved. 

The wife and the mother has to conduct at the same time a university, a clothing establishment, a restaurant, a laundry, a library, while she is health officer, police, and president of her realm!
—De Witt Talmage

There is a variety of Kindle deals for you to browse today. Remember that I’ve got an X account dedicated to it: @challiesdeals.

(Yesterday on the blog: What Becomes Of All Our Dreams?)

Robb Brunansky: “Two responses often prevail when celebrities claim to have been converted to Christianity. On one end, we have people who excitedly embrace them, platform them, and treat them as de facto religious leaders. They see these celebrities as great spokespeople for Christ and the Christian faith. They believe that having such cultural influencers on the side of truth will result in massive societal impact, with perhaps millions of unbelievers suddenly coming to faith in Christ.”

I don’t follow basketball or care about it even a little bit but was still glad to have read Daniel’s analysis of a recent trade. He draws an important lesson from it. “If you are reading this and you are not a sports fan and have zero idea what I’m talking about, please bear with me. There is a lesson here for you. Let me explain…”

At a time when the church is often influenced by superficial thinking about the Christian faith, The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul compels readers to tremble at the majesty of the Lord and His wonderous gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Request the 40th-anniversary edition of this celebrated book when you make a donation of any amount to Ligonier Ministries. (Sponsored)

This is a good principle to ponder: the temple is the best place to hide an idol. “Idolatry is easy to hide in the temple. The simplest way to foster idolatry is to smuggle it into the place of worship.  The slyest manner in which to promote worldliness is to parasitically attach it to the worship of the one true God.”

“Dopamine media is the most powerful, pervasive, and engineered form of communication technology in human history, and it’s not shaping us to love Jesus most. It’s not shaping us to love our neighbor. It’s shaping us into pleasure-seeking addicts. Christians must recognize that, at its heart, this technological revolution has resulted in an institutional, relational, and formational crisis for the church.”

Chap offers some wisdom on overcoming blind spots in our parenting and leadership. And it’s certain we all have some!

This is written specifically for counselors but can be useful for all of us as we communicate with others. Sometimes it is best to let the silence linger.

One matter that constantly perplexes me is just how difficult it is for young Christians today to figure out dating and romantic relationships. What was quite straightforward in my day seems to have become much more complicated in these days.

Sometimes the most godly thing a mouth may do is keep silent.
—D.A. Carson

My dad loved to cook. This was a passion that began relatively late in his life after the kids had moved out. With an empty nest, my parents were able to live a slower-paced life and my dad began to dabble in cooking. He soon found that he loved it and that my mother was only too happy to pass the torch. He loved to freestyle and experiment, to forsake recipes to just see where his taste buds would lead him. It is one of the tragedies of his sudden and unexpected death that he had just treated himself to a new high-end range when he died. Never once did he get to cook upon it. Never once did he get to enjoy it. When I visited my parents’ home after he died, the range was resting in its place in the kitchen, but with the packaging still around it. He had never even opened it.

My son was in love. He had gotten engaged to a lovely young lady and together they had begun to plan their wedding. They had settled on a date and a guest list and begun to plan their ceremony and order their invitations. And then he, too, was taken every bit as suddenly and unexpectedly as my father. When I arrived at his college dorm room and opened his computer, I found his wedding planning documents open and active, the last tasks he had worked on before going to be with the Lord. He had died a fiancé but not a husband, his plans interrupted, never to be realized.

There is an element of tragedy in every death. Even the oldest among us has dreams and plans, ideas to try, and interests to explore. And if even the oldest, how much more the youngest? All of us leave something unfinished behind us, some dream interrupted or plan broken, some idea untried or interest unexplored. When we come to the end of our days we leave things begun but not ended, attempted but not accomplished, desired but not completed.

What becomes of all of this? What becomes of the passions we could not explore, the dreams we could not realize, the gifts we could not deploy for the good of others and the glory of God? Why would God give it only to take it away, bestow it only to have it go unused?

We would despair were it not for the promise of life that continues beyond the grave and extends into the world to come. We have no reason to believe that God will completely recreate us when he makes all things new. Rather, he will perfect us while leaving what makes us “us” intact. All those passions he conferred, gifts he bestowed, interests he assigned—surely they are not eradicated but simply carried over. There will be cooking in heaven, will there not—opportunities to express culinary creativity? There will be relationships in heaven, will there not—deep and abiding friendships, even if not marriage? The existence to come is within a new heaven and a new earth, but surely one that is very much like this one—or is, in fact, this one.

There is tragedy in every death, and it is not only the tragedy of bidding farewell to one we have loved. There is also the tragedy of so much that is left undone. But by faith we can believe that the things we have learned, loved, desired, and attempted will not be taken entirely away. The interests we have developed and passions we have explored will not prove to be wasted or eradicated. Rather, they will simply be carried over from here to there, from this place of interruption to that place where time will never end and death will never interrupt. As one pastor says, “One of the surprises of heaven will be our finding there the precious hopes, joys, and dreams which seemed to have perished on earth—not left behind—but all carried forward and ready to be given into our hands the moment we get home.” What a homecoming that will be!

I’ve got a few different deals to make you aware of today:

Logos users, the NICOT and NICNT series of commentaries are on sale. These volumes are the backbone of a good commentary collection. Be sure to also grab a free commentary.

My book Pilgrim Prayers is on sale at 10ofThose with coupon code timpodcast. (Also, I was featured on their podcast which you can listen to via any of the apps.)

Westminster Books has a great deal on a new book about the future of Reformed apologetics.

Today’s Kindle deals include several helpful books about children, worship, and more.

J.A. Medders: “A pastor asked me what I would say to a 25-year-old devouring John Mark Comer’s books. And he also wanted to know my general take on JMC.” He offers some good thoughts.

Nadya Williams writes about something we both fear and resent: inconvenience. “We are desperately afraid of inconveniencing others—and at the same time, we are no less desperately annoyed when others inconvenience us. The two are connected. But you know who will rarely inconvenience you? Inanimate objects that operate the way they ought.”

Through robust study content and high-quality materials, The Church History Handbook is a valuable resource for studying every major period of church history and is designed to last a lifetime. Pre-order through Lifeway.com and receive 40% off your order when you enter the promo code CHALLIES40. (Sponsored)

“While a biblical worldview may be accused of reinforcing gender stereotypes and putting women into a straightjacket of patriarchal oppression, when applied rightly, it actually provides beautiful freedom in gender expression (how you express your maleness or femaleness) while leaving no ambiguity regarding gender identity (whether a person is male or female).”

Brad Littlejohn writes about AI and his concern that “the risk of AI isn’t the extinction of humanity, it’s the abolition of man.”

Stephen writes about the Lord’s Supper and the elements we use to celebrate it. Specifically, he writes about gluten-free bread and non-alcoholic wine.

Here is one pastor’s take on why he thinks it might be wise to bring a printed Bible to church instead of relying on a smartphone.

Parenting teens has been a pleasure and a privilege. It has been an honor and blessing. So for those who have been warned only of the trials to come, let me recount some of the joys.

God’s grace is more clearly seen and more deeply savored in our weaknesses than in our strengths.
—Jon Bloom