I heard from a friend this week who is on his way to heaven. He has days left, the doctors say, or maybe even a few weeks. But either way, his body has endured almost as much as it can take and his time is now short. Thankfully, he is ready to depart. And as I consider his departure, I recall this reflection from the old devotional writer James Smith which speaks of the great gain that comes to those who die in the Lord. I share it to encourage him and to encourage us.

If we look at death as creatures, we shall fear it; but if we look at it as Christians, we shall not. It was once a curse, it is now a blessing. It was a loss, it is now a gain.
Dying we gain our freedom from every foe, trial, and trouble; and obtain possession of innumerable blessings. We are freed from sin and made perfect in holiness. We are delivered from sickness and pain, and enjoy perfect health and happiness. We shall gain knowledge, for then we shall know even as we are known. We shall gain holiness, for then we shall be with Christ and be like him. We shall gain honour, for then white robes shall be given us, and we shall be acknowledged as victorious over Satan, the world, and sin. We shall sit down with Jesus on his throne.
Death to every believer is gain. It is immediate gain. It is great gain. It is everlasting gain. It may be painful to pass through, but its results will be glorious. And shall we fear death? Why should we? Jesus says, “He that keepeth my sayings shall never taste of death.” He may depart to be with his Lord, but he shall never die.
Look through Jesus at death, and look through death to Jesus.
Soon will the Lord, my life, appear;Soon shall I end my trials here,Leave sin and sorrow, death and pain,To live is Christ, to die is gain.

God bless you as you serve him today and worship him tomorrow!

There’s a nice combination of older and newer books in today’s list of Kindle deals.
(Yesterday on the blog: Hymns in Hard Places)
Is Disability Normal?
“We … can sometimes be confused about how disability impacts life in this world. But it’s only when we understand how Western society views disability, and how this contrasts with the Bible’s view, that we can begin to better understand the experience of disability and more effectively include people with disabilities in the church.”
What Should We Make of Healing Ministries?
John Piper considers healing ministries in this episode of Ask Pastor John.
Nothing is Too Hard for God
Lauren Washer: “I turn to the last page in my prayer journal for the assigned day, and continue praying. Friends, family, the world, my own heart—there are so many burdens to carry to the Lord. My heart feels heavy, my mind and soul are weak. As I pour out my heart and intercede for the needs of others, the Spirit whispers to my soul: Nothing is too difficult for me.”
The Presence of Joy, Even in the Midst of Tears
“A common thought is that joy and happiness are one in the same. And it’s true that there are several places in the Bible where the word joy is used as a synonym for happiness or gladness. But there is a deeper meaning to biblical joy that is different from happiness because joy is not dependent on our circumstances.”
Are You Principled or Just a Contentious Jerk?
“The apostle Paul says ‘an overseer must be . . . not quarrelsome’ (1 Tim. 3:2–3). Yet in my experience, quarrelsome people often hide behind the excuse, ‘I’m just principled’ or ‘I’m standing up for the truth when no one else will.’”
What does it mean to have free will?
Here’s an answer from Stephen Nichols and Robert Godfrey.
Flashback: To Be Looked Through, Not Looked At
In all areas of life the Christian is to be that set of spectacles that allows people to see something beyond, something better, something greater. The Christian is to point to Christ and do to this he needs to be looked through, not at.

They that know God will be humble. They that know themselves cannot be proud. —John Flavel

What would it mean to write hymns that speak specifically to the concerns, challenges, and temptations of your church? Not the global church or the church in general, mind you, but your own local church? What themes would be most important to those people? What truths might they have trouble believing and what doctrines might they have trouble applying to their lives? What temptations do they face that may not be addressed even in the wealth of Christian hymns that have stood the test of time and speak their precious truths?

These were the kinds of question that came to my mind as I listened to Hymns in Hard Places, the new collection of hymns by 20schemes Music. These were the kinds of question that came to my mind as I stood and worshipped with two local churches in Edinburgh, Scotland, and sang these songs under the leadership of the people they were written by and in fellowship with the people they were written for—churches situated in Scotland’s schemes (i.e. working-class housing estates or projects).
The album begins with a faithful rendition of Psalm 77, then turns to “Come Weary Souls,” a song that encourages those who have sinned to trust in the promise of God’s forgiveness: “There is no more guilt, / There is no more shame / Come like a child, believe and abide / Find rest in the Saviours name.” The next song, “Flee from Sin / Run to Jesus” brings comfort to those who find themselves struggling with old patterns of sin and addiction. “There’s a refuge from every lustful thought / From old habits enticing me away / When I fear my addictions won’t be overcome / There is hope through Christ’s resurrection day.”
The album continues with “We Long for that Day.” In a church context in which many members have experienced abuse and other forms of injustice, this song brings hope grounded in Christ’s return and the coming of final judgment. “God will judge this world so full of evil / and bring each work of darkness into light / on that day His enemies will tremble / When the King returns in glorious might / Finally oppression will be over / Secret acts of cruelty made known / Nowhere left to hide from the abuser / Every deed laid bare before the throne.” “Take Heart” returns to the theme of enduring suffering and sorrowing, “Praise His Name” promises eternal spiritual riches for those living in temporal poverty, while “Trust and Obey” rewrites the famous hymn for those who so often fail to trust and who so continuously struggle to obey: “Come you failures and see / Hopeless rebels set free / Where the Lamb, full submission, displayed / There He paid for our sin / Now His Spirit within / Is our joy as we trust and obey.”
And so it goes through several more hymns. It finishes with a bonus track which, though not meant to be sung congregationally, helpfully grapples with the reality that once we come to Christ, life often gets more difficult. “Why did life get harder, the minute I believed? / Why do I need armour, when You’ve won the victory? / Why does condemnation still weigh heavy on my heart? / I know that I’m forgiven so why is this path I’m on so dark?”
As twenty-first century English-speaking Christians, we are extremely well-resourced when it comes to hymns and have, quite literally, tens of thousands we can draw upon on any given Sunday. Yet it occurs to me that the great majority are written with the global church in mind rather than a very particular local church. They are written to be sung by millions rather than tens or hundreds and often speak to broad truths rather than specific ones. Speaking personally, I find something moving about the very notion of songs written for and sung by people who admit their particular struggles and who need particular encouragement.
It could be that your church finds something to sing in this collection of hymns, or it could be that it inspires your church to write songs that give a voice to their own concerns and difficulties. Either way, I expect you’ll benefit from Hymns in Hard Places. You can give it a listen on whatever music service you prefer.

How long have you been battling that sin? How long have you been struggling to find peace with that trauma? How long have you been enduring that sorrow? In some way each of us carries a heavy load through this life. In some way each of us finds it a long marathon more than a brief sprint. In some way each of us is called to endure with fortitude, even for a very long time.

Yet we must never stop believing that God is capable of hearing our pleas and providing the help we long for. It is possible that we, like Jacob, may be called to bear a limp to the end. But it’s also possible that we, like Naaman, may be completely set free. God may glorify himself through our endurance or he may glorify himself through our deliverance. We see this poignantly in the account of a man who had suffered grievously for the better part of his life. And yet he learned that he had never been beyond God’s healing touch.
In John 5 we are told of a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years. Thirty-eight years! For nearly four decades he had been an invalid, and this in a culture that was not known for its mercy toward the suffering. Day by day he had tried to take advantage of a mystical cure and day by day he had failed, for no one had been willing to offer him help. His every chance had been snatched from him.
One day Jesus walked by the place where this desperate man was trying to be cured. Jesus asked him the most obvious of questions: “Do you want to be healed?” This was like asking a bleeding man if he wanted a bandage, like asking a starving man if he wanted a hamburger, like asking a destitute man if he wanted a house and a car. Of course he did! He answered in the affirmative and told why it had so far proven impossible. Then Jesus said the simple words, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at that very moment, the man was not merely cured, but fully healed, completely strengthened. For the first time in nearly 40 years he stood up in his own strength. He stood up healed and whole.
Have you ever wondered by John chose to tell how many years this man had been afflicted? Don’t you think it’s most plausible that he chose to provide that detail so we would marvel at the degree of God’s healing? A man who had been paralyzed for a week might be said to have recovered naturally. A man who had been paralyzed for a year might be said to have retained some of his ability, some of his strength, so that it was no great feat to stand and walk. But a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years would have muscles that were atrophied, ligaments that were tightened, bones that were weakened. He could no more stand than an infant. Under normal circumstances he would need reconstructive surgery and years of therapy to be able to do so much as take a step. And yet in one moment he was fully healed, completely restored, as good as new. And the only plausible explanation was that God had acted sovereignly and powerfully.
It seems to me that God often prefers to work with what is most broken. He loves to display his power with what has been most shattered. He loves to contrast the heights of his strength with the depths of our weakness. He loves to prove that none of us is beyond the reach of his grace. None of us is any more beyond his help than was this 40-year invalid.
While we should never minimize what is truly tragic, whether infirmity, bereavement, or trauma, we should also ensure we do not allow the severity of our tragedies and the length with which we’ve borne them to diminish our confidence that God can bring relief and healing. And so we do well to ask: How deep is that habit of sin? How grievous the memory of that trauma? How great the grief of that sorrow? Is it more immovable than legs that had been frozen in place for 38 years? Is it more substantial than muscles that had atrophied since the equivalent of 1984? Is it more fixed and constant than nearly four decades of disuse and decay? If God healed that man’s legs and feet, could he not soothe our broken hearts, calm our troubled souls, fix our sinful habits?
Sometimes it best serves God’s purposes to leave us in our weakness, for it is in this state that he can best prove himself to be our strength. Yet sometimes it best serves God’s purposes to interrupt long suffering and reward long praying with a demonstration of his power. It is no sin and no contradiction to long and pray for the latter even while persisting through the former. All the while we can be confident that whether through endurance or through restoration, God has ignored no prayer and made no mistake. We can be completely certain that, when faith turns to sight, we will judge it all good and very good.

Grace and peace to you today, my friends.

Today’s Kindle deals include some pretty good titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Snows, The Deep Snows, the Awful Snows)
Looking for Wisdom Among the ‘Christian’ Gurus
“Dave Ramsey, Jordan Peterson, and Rachel Hollis are, each in their own way, three of our modern gurus. They’re a diverse group that reflects particular personalities of modern culture. Peterson is the philosophical academic, Hollis the Instagram celebrity, and Ramsey the folksy, financial counseling version of Dr. Phil.” That’s an interesting start to an article…
Seeing Dignity Instead of Misery Among the Poor
“I used to assume that life must be joyless for those without all the material comforts that were commonplace to me. When I considered people who had only the clothes on their backs and just enough food for each day, my first and strongest reaction was pity. I felt it often in our early years in Zambia, and that revealed a lot to me about my true priorities. When we equate poverty with misery, our core values are exposed.”
You Preach to Ordinary People
“It is good to remember that your church is not a unique collection of hyper-spiritual elite super saints. Nor is it the strangest and most bizarre collection of people either. You preach to ordinary people.” Here are a few things to remember about ordinary people like you and me.
The Invitation Underneath Unforgiveness
“Children of God are fully forgiven the moment they surrender and receive the atoning work of Christ packaged in the gospel; however, it takes a lifetime both to comprehend such fathomless forgiveness and to become those who forgive like the Father.”
No wrong roads
Here’s the latest column from Janie Cheaney. “Every individual life is a creative, collaborative work between the one who lives it and the One who gives it. In that sense, it doesn’t matter where the path leads or what ground it covers or whether we travel at night or full daylight. What matters is His steadfast love and faithfulness.”
Shepherds of Assurance
Pastors especially may benefit from this article.
Flashback: 7 Rules for Online Engagement
As we learn to engage controversy…we do well to consider how to we can speak with equal parts truth and love—love that is strengthened by truth and truth that is softened by love.

Oh, prodigal, you may be wandering on the dark mountains of sin, but God wants you to come home. —D.L. Moody

You do not need to extensively in Christian history or Christian biography to spot the connection between sorrow and sanctification. Though it is certainly not always the case, very often the people who are particularly used by the Lord are the same people who endure suffering. De Witt Talmage makes this point well in a quote from one of his sermons.

Call the roll of all the eminently pious of all the ages and you will find them the sons and daughters of sorrow. The Maronites say that one characteristic of the cedar tree is that when the air is full of snow, and it begins to descend, the tree lifts its branches in a way better to receive the snow and bear up under it, and I know by much observation that the grandest cedars of Christian character lift higher their branches toward God, when the snows of trouble are coming. Lord Nelson’s coffin was made out of the masts of the ship L’Orient, in which he had fought so bravely, and your throne in heaven, oh, suffering child of God, will be built out of conquered earthly disasters.
What gave John Bunyan such a wondrous dream of the celestial city? The Bedford penitentiary.
What gave Richard Baxter such power to tell of The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, and give his immortal Call to the Unconverted? Physical disease which racked every nerve of his body.
What made George Whitefield so mighty in saving souls, bringing ten thousand to God when others brought a hundred? Persecution that caricatured and assailed him all up and down England, and dead vermin thrown in his face when he was preaching.
What mellowed and glorified Wilberforce’s Christian character? A financial misfortune that led him to write: “I know not why my life is spared so long, except it be to show that a man can be as happy without a fortune as with one.”
What gave John Milton such deep spiritual eyesight that he could see the battle of angels? Extinguishment of physical eyesight.
What is the highest observatory for studying the stars of hope and faith and spiritual promise? The believer’s sick-bed.
What proclaims the richest and most golden harvests that wave on all the hills of heavenly rapture? The snows, the deep snows, the awful snows of earthly calamity. And that thought is one of the treasures of the snow.

May God bless you as you serve and worship him this weekend.

There are some new Kindle deals to browse through.
(Yesterday on the blog: Is It Unspiritual To Be Depressed?)
Can Christians ‘Do Business’ with the World?
“In recent decades, a number of prominent Christian organizations and denominations have called for Christians to boycott businesses that are associated in some way with non-Christian ethics.” This article asks whether this is necessary.
Did We Kiss Purity Goodbye?
There are some interesting reflections here on the successes and failures of purity culture. “Calls for sexual purity were (and are) biblical and needed. Even in the midst of the good that was done through lots of preaching and discipleship during those years, several lies seemed to spread in the renewed emphasis on purity — each laced with enough truth to be taken seriously and yet with enough deceit to lead some astray.”
4 Traits of an Emotionally Healthy Ministry Worker
Eliza Huie affirms the importance of spiritual health but says “spiritual vitality is not the only area of health ministry workers need to pursue. Your emotional health is also essential. Below are four traits of emotionally healthy people for you to pursue. If you’re in ministry, each one is worthy of your careful consideration.”
Chasing Sunsets
“Why did God give us sunsets? He could have made the shift from light to dark an instantaneous change. One moment it’s day, the next it’s night. One moment you can see, the next you can’t. But written into creation is a gradual movement in colors that hurts our eyes with brilliance and bends our brains with wonder every single day that we care to pause and notice.” Glenna Marshall marvels at God’s handiwork.
The 3 Motivations to Work
“There tend to be three primary motivations that drive people to accomplish something, but it is not until we reach the third that we are nearing maturity.”
God Sees the Pain Unseen by Others
“At a moment’s notice, chaos could erupt in our home. But it never failed that our most difficult moments with our child’s challenges often occurred on the mornings I was determined to make it to my bible study. And this particular morning was no different.” Sarah Walton writes about a special moment.
Flashback: The Opposite of Envy
Neither someone else’s success nor our lack of success changes who we are in Christ. Neither some else’s failures nor our own has any bearing on who we are in him.

It will not take long for God to make up to you in the next world for all you have suffered in this. —De Witt Talmage

Is it unspiritual to be depressed? Or perhaps, said better, is it necessarily unspiritual to be depressed? Most of us would agree that the answer is “no.” Of course we would want to include some nuance to affirm that spiritual malaise or emotional despondency can sometimes be the result of sinful thoughts or actions and in such cases there may be a connection with a lack of spirituality. But we also know that sometimes depression appears mysteriously, providentially, and unprovoked by any sin or transgression on our part. We know that some of the people who are most spiritually mature can still suffer through very dark valleys.

But while we affirm there is no necessary connection between depression and a lack of spiritual obedience or maturity, I do wonder whether our initial instincts sometimes betray us. I do wonder whether beneath our well-rehearsed answers there is a part of us that really does believe that depression and other forms of emotional distress or mental illness are associated with sin and immaturity.
This is an urgent issue to Paul Ritchie, a pastor in Ireland who struggles with depression, anxiety, and O.C.D. In his new book, Is It Unspiritual to Be Depressed?: Loved by God in the Midst of Pain, he discusses his own struggles with mental illness, seeks to help those who struggle in similar ways, and offers counsel to those who are attempting to help loved ones. “In this book,” he says, “I want to draw on my own experiences and thoughts on issues related to depression and anxiety. I am coming from an evangelical Christian perspective and I want to show you how the good news about Jesus is good news for your mental health. I want to do something to take away the stigma and misunderstanding that surrounds mental illness, particularly in church circles. There is also a chapter for those of you seeking to help people in your church or family who struggle with depression and anxiety.”
His hope, he explains, is that “as you read this short book, your confidence in the kindness of God will grow, and you will experience the truth that ‘the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit’ (Ps. 34:18).” To that end, he begins by defining depression and anxiety and explaining their origin in mankind’s fall into sin and then considers if and how Christianity is good for mental health. In answering the tricky question that gives title to the book he says this: “When I pray with people for physical and emotional healing, I allow for a time of silence where we can confess our sin. However, being depressed and anxious does not necessarily mean we have committed some particular sin to cause it. If God is using this pain to call you back to Himself, He will make that clear. Never assume that your depression and anxiety is caused by some unconfessed sin. Never accuse someone who is depressed or anxious of having done something wrong to bring about their pain. There are many other reasons why people struggle with anxiety and depression.”
One of the key chapters is titled “Is it Unspiritual To Be Depressed and Anxious?” and here he turns to scripture and the history of Christianity to show that depression and anxiety have often been present in God’s people. He also asks whether it’s sinful to worry (since, after all, the fruit of the Spirit includes joy) and whether Christians can take antidepressants under certain circumstances.
In the chapters that follow he goes on to discuss when and how Christians should speak about their mental health with other believers and medical professionals, how God means to help in times of struggle, and how those who are depressed can believe they are forgiven even when they feel so guilty. He also gently covers suicide before offering a number of ways each of us can help people in our own churches who are depressed and anxious.
Is it unspiritual to be depressed? This author answers with a confident “no” (or “no, not necessarily”) and does so in a well-written and helpful little book that I am certain will be a blessing to many. I’m very glad to recommend it to you with confidence that it will serve you well.

Buy from Amazon

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

This week at Westminster Books you’ll find deals on the 5 Things To Pray series of prayer guides.
The Christian case against Bitcoin and blockchain
A few weeks back I shared an article about Bitcoin (which was written by a friend, not by me). In this lengthy response, Luke Plant vehemently disagrees and tells why he thinks everyone should stay away from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. I, for one, benefit from a thoughtful dissenting perspective like Luke’s.
A Random Series of One-Off Appearances
This is an interesting way to think about the value of preaching verse by verse and book by book.
Is your church website accomplishing the right things?
It’s the first impression people have of your community. It can be a powerful tool for communication with your congregation. Is it doing what it needs to do? The team behind WhiteHorseInn.org, ElisabethElliot.org, and even Challies.com, also makes sites for local churches! In March only, mention ‘CHALLIES‘ to receive 30% off your first year of service with MereChurch. (Sponsored Link)
What if I suffer from severe anxiety? (Video)
Mike Hillerman of RTS answers the question.
Remaining Faithful in Your Marriage (Video)
Here Conrad Mbewe speaks about faithfulness in marriage by addressing an issue that’s of importance in his Zambian context.
5 Questions for Young Christians About Their Media Choices
”If you’re a parent, pastor, youth leader, or mentor, here are five questions to discuss about media with youth.”
My Only Comfort
“I suppose this is part of what it means to grow old. Pain comes more quickly—if it ever really leaves. Like the birds of morning and the crickets of night, the noise of pain exists in an ever-present state, sitting in the background of everything else going on. The difference, of course, is no one considers the pain beautiful. No one stops to listen to the pain. What’s the point? It only makes it stronger.” Yup, that’s growing older.
Flashback: Never Read a Bible Verse (and Never Listen To a Sermon Clip)
…allow me to suggest that you also never listen to a sermon clip, never watch a YouTube excerpt, and never read a quote. Not unless you are willing to do the work of properly, diligently, and honestly understanding its context.

No one’s sin toward us can ever justify our sin toward them. What’s more, these days, when everyone is outraged by everything, kindness is radical. —Isaac Adams

Grace and peace to you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number of good books.
(Yesterday on the blog: Showing Mercy in A Feeding Frenzy)
My Head And The Headlines
“Reading the news these days is like watching a train wreck in slow motion—except it’s not a train, it’s the whole world. And like a train wreck, as horrifying as it is to watch, it’s also hard to look away.” Seth reflects on what we may lose with a relentless focus on the headlines.
A Christian Approach to PTSD and Trauma
Bruce Ashford: “We live in a fallen world in which we are sometimes exposed to terrifying events. Through experiencing or witnessing those events, we can experience severe psychological trauma. However, we can be comforted in knowing that the God who experienced a traumatic crucifixion on our behalf is with us in the midst of our trauma, and that he has given medical personnel the ability to treat the brain-based distortions that result from traumatic experiences.”
Should the Sick Be Anointed with Oil?
Robert Plummer takes a look at the passage in James that speaks of prayer and anointing with oil.
Does My Son Know You?
Jonathan Tjarks, a writer for the sports site The Ringer, has written a very moving article about his battle with cancer.
An Update on My Precious Wife Nanci
Also, we ought to pray for Randy and Nanci Alcorn since Nanci is now in hospice care. “We met with the hospice director Monday morning and then a hospice social worker. Nanci is officially now in hospice care, so that means her death is expected within six months. It could be a lot less than that or it could be more, of course no one knows.”
How Can I Expect My Children to Honor Me Since I Am a Sinner Too?
“I was recently asked this question at a conference. Have you ever wondered the same thing? Certainly, as parents, we blow it. Can we still ask our children to honor us?” Chap Bettis answers.
Flashback: Keep Your Good Deeds Secret (From Even Yourself)
A million dollars printed on an oversized check and paraded before the press is of much less value in the eyes of God than a hundred dollars given in secret. A rich gift is no gift at all if its purpose is to enhance the reputation of the giver.

The moment you are willing to obey, He gives you strength to obey. —Theodore Cuyler