Good morning. May the Lord be with you and bless you.

You’ll find lots of neat Kindle deals today. There are books on worry, apologetics, miscarriage, and more. I also continue to dig up some great deals in the massive Intervarsity Press sale.

Westminster Books has lowered the price on a resource meant to help you share the story of Jesus this Easter.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Most Pleasant Show on Television)

This is an encouraging article that insists it’s never too late to learn how to pray. It uses the example of Tim Keller who didn’t really learn how to pray until he was in his 50s.

“I have had the opportunity and privilege of walking with many through various forms of loss and trial. It was not until we lost our 18-year-old son, however, that I truly learned that there is a huge difference between knowing about grief and knowing grief. Walking through the death of our son revealed to me that I knew far less about what is actually helpful in supporting others than I thought.”

Jonathan Threlfall does a bit of a deep dive into a subject that is always controversial. “Many people cringe at the teaching that wives are to submit to their husbands. A clear understanding of this teaching will lead us to marvel at the goodness of God’s plan for marriage and society.”

Wendy Alsup asks some interesting questions here. “How did we come to our current cultural understanding of the role of a pastor’s wife? Is it a ministry position? It is a biblical role? Or have our expectations of a pastor’s wife morphed over time to fill the vacuum left in churches and denominations that deny women’s ordination?”

Michael Kruger explains why the New Testament’s understanding of hospitality is probably a bit different from our own.

Does God want some people to go to hell? And is that even the right question to ask?

F.B. Meyer…counsels us on what to do when others attack our character and seek to harm our name. In short: wait on the Lord.

There is no plateau in the Christian life. We are either growing closer to Christ’s likeness or we are falling away.
—Aimee Byrd

I rarely review, recommend, or even mention movies and television programs. I rarely do so because I am aware that tastes vary and so too do family rules and personal consciences. Not only that, but I am not very adept at understanding the themes or messages in visual media and wouldn’t wish to inadvertently lead people into watching something that would offend them. (Aileen will attest that I often have to pause shows so she can explain to me what’s going on.) But today, without necessarily recommending it, I want to mention one show I have particularly enjoyed and tell what I have enjoyed about it.

I know that every genre of entertainment and every jurisdiction in which it is distributed has its own system for rating the content—from programs suitable for every audience to programs unsuitable for any audience (which should thus never have been made). On a personal level, however, I find that I increasingly divide films and programs into two categories: pleasant and unpleasant. While acknowledging that these categories are somewhat subjective, I find them helpful.

When the end of the day comes and I’m too tired to read yet not tired enough to go to sleep, I love to watch something with Aileen—to settle onto the couch together and be entertained for 45 minutes or so. And it is a joy to watch something pleasant. So much of today’s entertainment is violent or edgy, provocative or profane. So much of it is a thinly-veiled veneer for identity politics as if that message is so important that no other quality really matters. It’s unpleasant—and if it’s unpleasant in the middle of the day it somehow seems even more so at the end of a day.

It has been a long time since I have watched a show as pleasant as All Creatures Great and Small. It is now several seasons into its run and to this point it has avoided just about all of the common traps. While I will grant that there have been some isolated scenes that are a mite disagreeable, the great majority has been a joy to watch. It hasn’t merely avoided traps, but actually told engaging stories in a really satisfying way. The period is fascinating, the setting beautiful, and the characters deeply developed. While I keep waiting in dread for some immoral and anachronistic addition to the series, so far it hasn’t come. The writers have mostly just followed the stories from the books or written their own that are in the spirit of the books. It is all so pleasant and has become one of our favorite ways to end a long day.

So in its own way, All Creatures has reminded me just how pleasant and unprovocative television can be. It has reminded me of an earlier era in entertainment when much (though certainly not all) of what was available was actually watchable for those who don’t wish to see what shouldn’t be seen and amused by what shouldn’t be amusing. And I hope the show’s success helps the studios understand that if they keep out the raunch, hold back the politics, and simply tell good stories in a compelling way, they’ll have an audience eager to watch.

A highlight of today’s Kindle deals is Jonathan Holmes’ Grounded in Grace which will be helpful to parents. There are a lot of other great deals as well. And remember that the Tyndale Commentaries, The Bible Speaks Today, and several other amazing series are on sale.

Paul Tripp says, “Our God of grace intends to make his invisible grace visible by sending people of grace to give grace to people who need grace. His people are meant to be the visible demonstration of his faithfulness.” Then he asks, “will we accept this lavish gift with humility, honesty, and dependency?”

Dave Harvey has a good word here about the desire for distinction. “I feel it. You probably do as well. Regardless of where we are called to lead, we want our efforts to be fruitful; to make a difference. So far, so good. But there is something we smuggle into our service: We want it to set us apart.“

“Was I just in an ongoing ‘cage-stage’ in my 20s? I don’t think so. No, I had a misplaced identity. I had placed my worth in my theology. It makes sense, then, why I felt personally attacked when the differing views of others rubbed against my own.”

Christina Fox: “Wherever you are in your motherhood journey—whether in the early, middle, or empty nest years—God meets you where you are. He provides His grace. We see this in the lives of three mothers in the Bible. In each of their circumstances, God provided what they needed and gave them His grace.”

Darryl offers some random but helpful thoughts on preaching.

Have you ever considered what good news it is that God hates sin?

We sometimes encounter providences that make us believe the book has been closed and all has been lost. Yet when we are pressed, we must not think we have been crushed, but believe that God can still bring about a great redemption. 

Your whole life is being determined by what you’re running from, what you’re running to, and who you’re running with.
—Alistair Begg

Good morning from Kitwe, Zambia. I’m here this week to speak at an event for writers. Prayers are appreciated!

If all goes well, you should find hundreds of great Kindle deals available today—commentaries, Bible resources, and much more. Start here for a short list and then go here for a much longer one. I’ll try to have the list all updated by early morning.

(Yesterday on the blog: Combat Anxiety Through Surrender)

John Piper evaluates Jordan Peterson’s perspective on happiness. “Jordan Peterson is negative about happiness as the aim of life because he defines happiness as fleeting, unpredictable, impulsive, and superficial rather than as deep, lasting, soul-satisfying, rooted in God, and expanding in love. He’s probably right that for most people, happiness is experienced as fleeting, superficial, unpredictable…”

I enjoyed Dan’s tribute to the humble cup of church coffee.

Andrew Roycroft considers the show Adolescence and writes about it for the benefit of a younger audience. “Greetings from the world of Substack. I’m not sure how familiar you are with this platform, but I have a feeling that it might be the domain of people you view as outside of your age group. Thanks for venturing into this space, if so!”

Chap Bettis suggests “five different spiritual habits or rhythms that you can bring into your home that will bring blessing.”

This is a true and encouraging story. “All four ladies were chatting pleasantly as they drove up to the intersection. Adaleen’s window was halfway down due to the hot temperatures outside. Out of nowhere the assailant’s hand reached in through the open window and pulled the keys out of the ignition, stalling the car. Shock gripped all the women.”

Brett McCracken considers Love Is Blind and how it is “fascinating as a reflection of our culture’s widening gender divide over politics and as a strong warning against ‘unequally yoked’ dating when key values and spiritual convictions diverge.”

As I listen and ask follow-up questions, I learn—I learn to appreciate what I have often never considered before and even what doesn’t especially enthuse me. God is good to give human beings skills and passions and good to allow us to express them in our vocations. 

A profession of faith doesn’t justify anybody. It’s the possession of faith that justifies.
—R.C. Sproul

This week’s blog is sponsored by Fieldstone Counseling. Fieldstone Counseling is a biblical counseling organization based in Northeast Ohio, offering both in-person and remote counseling services. Fieldstone exists to engage life’s experiences with biblically-based, Christ-centered, and clinically informed counsel.

You know you’re an old parent when you find yourself giving quips and quotes that your parents gave you. My kids tell me all the time about how they love my little sayings here and there:

“Are you working hard or hardly working?”

“If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.”

“Don’t put off tomorrow what can be done today!”

One of my favorite sayings that I hear often from older generations is:

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Meaning, a bit of proactive care on the front end can save you a lot of heartache (and potentially money) in the long run. I find this especially true when it comes to counseling. Often, we think of counseling as reserved for only the most complex or chronic of problems–marriages on the brink of divorce, severe mental health issues, complex parenting situations. Yes, counseling can be helpful in those areas, but it’s also true that counseling can be helpful in the earlier stages of a problem as well.

Counseling provides a context for you to speak and be heard

Sometimes, it’s helpful to speak with someone and be heard. In a culture that is dominated by loud voices and big messages, sometimes your personal story of sin and shame, suffering and sorrow gets lost in the mix. When did you last speak with someone about what was on your heart? When was the last time you had the chance to talk to someone about something of essential importance in your life? Counseling can provide that!

In Scripture, we see ourselves clearly for who we are–sinners and sufferers in need of God’s grace and mercy.Share

Counseling can help you see early signs of danger

I’ve been told that early detection is the key to many of life’s physical health issues. A friend recently told me that I need to keep an eye on my rising blood pressure as that could be an indicator of cardiovascular issues. Trust me–I’m taking his counsel very seriously. Similarly, counseling can help you process and receive biblical guidance and truth on issues in your life before they become overwhelming or life-dominating.

Struggling with every day, low-level anxiety? Stuck in a rut at work and struggling to find meaning and purpose? Why not seek a wise counselor to work through these issues with?

Counseling can identify blind spots

In speaking and being heard, counseling can also help you identify those pesky blind spots in your life. What you might see as a difficult relationship actually ties back to a past hurt or trauma in a previous relationship. That persistent feeling of loneliness could be connected to insecurities about being rejected or abandoned by friends and loved ones. The bad news about blind spots is that they can cause serious accidents if you ignore them. The good news about blind spots is that an accident can be avoided simply by being aware of them.

Counseling can help you connect the truths of Scripture with the troubles of life

What happens in the counseling room? I think you’d be surprised at how simple and straightforward counseling actually is. We speak to each other from the heart, and then we seek to connect those important realities to the truth of who Christ is and the hope offered to us in Scripture. In Scripture, we see ourselves clearly for who we are–sinners and sufferers in need of God’s grace and mercy.

In light of this, take a moment and pause. Is there something in your life right now that you could use some solid, biblical counsel on? Is there someone in your life right now that you need help navigating difficult dynamics with? Take that ounce of prevention now–consider reaching out for help. Fieldstone Counseling is a biblically-based, Christ-centered, and clinically informed counseling center that offers its services to people looking for lasting hope for life’s hardships.

Visit us today and make an appointment at fieldstonecounseling.org

Life is intimidating at times. Sometimes it’s intimidating, sometimes it’s scary, and sometimes it’s downright terrifying. As we gaze into a future that is uncertain or frightening, our natural tendency is to pursue comfort through control. If we can only gain control over the situation, then we can ward off what frightens us and usher in what comforts us. If we can control the situation we can control the outcome and have confidence that all will be well. Or so we convince ourselves.

When we lie awake at night pondering our dire finances, that angry church member, a concerning medical diagnosis, our minds often race through the different scenarios looking for ways we can control them. When we finally awaken the next morning, we pray, speak, and behave in ways that attempt to master or dominate the situation. If only I can take the levers of power, if only people will cede to my will, if only God does things my way, then all will be well. If I can control the outcome, I can control the circumstances.

One of the lessons I have learned through life’s greatest difficulties is there is far more comfort in surrender than control. The reason is obvious: Surrender is within our power while control is not. We have the ability to surrender ourselves to God and his purposes, but we do not have the ability to control God and his purposes. God honors our words of commitment and consecration but he does not honor our attempts to wedge our way into what is his jurisdiction. Ceding control is a superior response to anxiety than attempting to seize it. Bowing the knee to God, pleading our case, and praying, “Nevertheless, not as I will but you will,” is the unexpected path to peace.

God honors our words of commitment and consecration but he does not honor our attempts to wedge our way into what is his jurisdiction.Share

Thus, when we face situations that are intimidating, scary, or terrifying, the right response is surrender. We need to surrender not just those things we’d be content to do without, but those things we love most and value highest: health, money, career, spouse, children. We need to surrender them to the Lord, to his wisdom, to his sovereignty. This is not an emotionally passive surrender as if we can ever be apathetic about what is important to us, but a fully active surrender in which we choose to trust that God’s wisdom is greater and his will is better than our own. It is the kind of surrender that acknowledges these things we value so highly only ever belonged to God and never actually belonged to us.

What we want in our times of fear and uncertainty is the assurance of a particular outcome—the outcome we long for. But what we need in our times of fear and uncertainty is trust in the character and sovereignty of God. What we need most is to surrender all to him and his kind, Fatherly heart, trusting that he will only ever do what is right and what is best—even, or especially, if it does not look that way to us.

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Today’s Kindle deals include a collection of interesting titles. I’ve also bumped up some books whose sale price will be expiring at the end of the day.

This is a helpful word on gratitude—both spontaneous and deliberate.

Bethel McGrew writes about Adolescence, a show that a lot of people are talking about. She is especially fascinated by what the show does not cover to any significant degree.

“As a member of Gen Z—the generation that grew up with smartphones—I didn’t realize how my phone was degrading my spiritual life until I had to give it up.”

Michael Jensen explains why he believes in miracles. “Since that great intellectual movement called the Enlightenment in the 18th century, miracles have been increasingly thought of as an embarrassment to Christian faith. This embarrassment has not decreased.”

Alan Noble: “The following might get me into trouble with some readers, but I think it’s worth saying because it’s true: Christian artists are not priests. They don’t belong to some special class of holy people set apart by God (as we see under the Old Covenant) from other believers to proclaim spiritual truths. They aren’t a higher form of Christian given unique insight into beauty and the calling to save the world through beauty.”

This writer explains how he has come “to both believe and feel more deeply that the justice of hell is a fitting, careful justice. I, like many, am tempted to feel that an eternal hell is a careless kind of ‘justice,’ a broad-brushed thing involving so much eternal collateral damage. This couldn’t be further from the truth.”

…he wants to see pastors become committed, faithful, engaging expositors of the Word. Such preaching, while perhaps not fitting any definition of entertainment, will be interesting and effective.

Daniel among the lions is happier than Darius on his throne.
—DeWitt Talmage

Though we are limited beings with little knowledge, we are proud beings with little humility. When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to bring our petitions before the Lord, to bring to him all our cares, all our burdens, all our sorrows. We can and should plead our case before the Lord, for Jesus tells us, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:I1).

Yet we need to do so humbly acknowledging that God may have purposes in mind that he has not yet made clear to us. And so when we pray and when we bring our requests to the Lord, we say, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In these words we acknowledge what God has made clear. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).

We humbly, willingly submit to the choices of the God who is working all things for our good and his glory. In the words of Moody, we “Spread out our petitions before God, and then say, ‘Thy will, not mine, be done.’” We will come to see what he learned: “The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s school is to let the Lord choose for me.”

My gratitude goes to 21Five for sponsoring the blog this week. If you are a Christian reader in Canada, you may want to look at their site and consider their Easter specials.

Today’s Kindle deals include some newer titles and some classics as well. Also, Westminster Books is offering an ESV Study Bible at 63% off.

(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for March 2025)

Is it possible for God to withdraw his presence from us? As John Piper explains here, the answer can be both yes and no.

This article provides a helpful illustration that explains why there are four gospels instead of one.

Trevin explains what we can glean from some of the different ways that Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper. “Whatever you call it, however you celebrate it, there’s much to be gleaned by reflecting on the symbolism of your church’s traditions when observing this meal together. Treat the moment with reverence, with joy, with gratitude, with faith.”

“The bottom-level, unchangeable truth about your life is not that it’s hard (though maybe it is) and not that it’s painful (though that’s probably true too). The truest, most unchanging thing about your life is that you have a God who is worthy of your trust in every tiny circumstance you encounter today.”

We all need wisdom for those difficult conversations we need to have from time to time.

“For real and rich friendship to develop, we need time and the wisdom to know whom to spend it on. And on this side of eternity, our time is limited. What do we do when cell phones, Wi-Fi, and economy airlines conspire to make the number of friendships we could ‘keep up’ feel virtually limitless?”

Their frailty is to be met with sympathy, their inability is to draw the love and help of Christ’s whole family. Their weakness is to be their strength as it draws the love and care of the entire household.

The best kinds of ministry are, more often than not, long term and low key.
—Christopher Ash

This weeks giveaway is sponsored by 21Five.

Have you heard of 21Five? 21Five is Canada’s newest Christian bookstore curating a collection of the best gospel-centred, God-glorifying books and products. It can be hard to find affordable, Reformed Christian resources, especially when Christian bookstores across Canada are closing their doors. 21Five is able to ship a variety of materials across the country at great prices to help you deepen their faith and embody it in all areas of life. You can shop online at 21Five.ca or in person at their physical location in Ancaster (Hamilton), Ontario.

On the road to Easter, 21Five is offering a number of seasonal promotions. Save 10% on their entire Easter collection. Additionally, until April 17, get free Canada-wide shipping on orders of $50 or more (lowered from $75).

Easter Giveaway

For Free Stuff Fridays, 21Five is hosting a book giveaway! Five winners will receive a book of their choosing from 21Five’s Easter collection, as well as a faith-based bookmark.

This contest is for Canadian residents only.To enter, fill out the form below which automatically subscribes you to 21Five’s monthly e-newsletter. Newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about promotions, sales and new products.