Charles Spurgeon said it. Billy Graham said it. And even though it’s not really all that funny anymore, most of us have probably said it as well. It goes something like this: “Don’t bother looking for the perfect church since, the moment you join it, it won’t be perfect anymore.” Zing!

There’s truth behind the quote, of course. It would be impractical and, frankly, ridiculous to expect that a bunch of sinful people could join together to create a sinless community—to imagine that perfection could arise from the confluence of a hundred lives as imperfect as yours and mine. Yet, though we know perfection is impossible, don’t we all sometimes still grow frustrated at the sheer messiness of Christian individuals and Christian churches? Don’t we all sometimes face the temptation to pack up and move on when our fellow believers act like the sinners they are?
A little while ago I was speaking to a young man who is a fan of computer-based Role Playing Games. He explained that what draws him to these games is the ability to custom-craft a character, then to discover how that unique character interacts within the world of the game. When he creates a new character, he is given a finite number of points that he can allocate in a nearly infinite number of ways—some to strength, some to intelligence, some to charisma, some to agility, and so on. In the end he has always created a character that has both strengths and weaknesses, all depending upon the way he has allocated the points. What he can never do is create a character that is only strong and not the least bit weak.
Though the comparison between a church and game may threaten to be trite, I have actually found it helpful and, frankly, encouraging. There seems to be a law in this broken world that every strength is tempered with some kind of a weakness, almost as if there is a finite number of “points” that can be allocated to any individual or any church. A pastor who is an especially powerful preacher may be an especially weak counselor; elders who are skilled and vociferous in defending the truth may fall short in grace and love; a church that takes worship services seriously may be lax when it comes to evangelism. None of these weaknesses is defensible and none of them is okay. Yet some kind of imperfection is always inevitable on this side of glory.
What’s true in churches is true in families. A husband may be extremely diligent in leading and providing, but lax in his spiritual disciplines. A wife may have penetrating insights into the Word, but be uncommitted to extending hospitality. Kids may be obedient but lazy, or hard-working but mouthy. We ourselves have to admit that for all our virtues, they continue to be tempered by a host of vices.
This being the case, it is irrational to expect that any one church, any one pastor, any one husband or wife, friend or child, can excel in every way. And this faces us with a challenge: Can we learn to tolerate their shortcomings? Can we learn to live with the way their “points” have been allocated? While we certainly don’t need to embrace sin or apathetically accept ungodliness, we do need to accept the inevitability of some faults, some defects, some areas that will always remain a sore disappointment. And, realistically, we have to know that even if there was strength in one area we lament, it would probably mean there would be weakness in one area we admire. No individual and no community of individuals can be the complete package. It just doesn’t work that way.
Hence, the path to joy in church, marriage, and life is to accept that there will always be imperfections, to accept that there will always be areas of disappointment—but to be willing to celebrate the strengths while tolerating the weaknesses. Just as it is the glory of a man to overlook an offense, it is the glory of a Christian to overlook a weakness—to find greater joy in what encourages than in what disappoints.

May the Lord bless and keep you today.

There is a good selection of new Kindle deals today.
Shall we cancel the theologians?
Carl Trueman says “there is a form of cancel culture emerging within the ranks of Christians. It operates with selective pieties drawn from the wider woke culture and reflects, whether by accident or design, the same self-righteousness that marks the secular world.”
3 Simple Ways to Flatten Your Neighbor
And in a not-entirely-dissimilar way, Trevin Wax says “unfortunately, many in our society seem to be reverting to fourth-grade categorizations for just about everyone, and often doing so with the zeal of a crusader for a righteous cause.”
Ligonier’s New Bible for Students and Young Adults
The Reformation Study Bible, Student Edition from Ligonier Ministries is an ideal resource to help young people grow in their knowledge of God and His Word. Its many unique features include hundreds of questions and answers that bring clarity to key subjects of the Christian faith. Use code CHALLIES by January 21 to save an extra 5% on this new study Bible in the Ligonier store. (Sponsored Link)
When Aslan Wept
Writing from Bangalore, Sheena Gershom looks at an excerpt from C.S. Lewis and asks, “Isn’t that an accurate picture of the love and compassion of our Lord in the face of our disheartening circumstances? While it is within God’s power to remove our suffering and make us feel better again, sometimes He does not. We can only trust that He’s grieving alongside us while working things out behind the scenes for our good and His glory.”
Christians Are Going Back to Church—But Maybe Not the Same One
In this article, CT says something many of us have been observing: that there is a lot of movement between churches at the moment.
How To Understand And Dispel The Fear Of Witchcraft
Joseph Byamukama writes about witchcraft–a very present and pressing issue in many settings. “In 2016, the former Ugandan Parliament House Speaker Rebecca Kadaga raised eyebrows and caused controversy for her re-election thanksgiving to the ancestors in a shrine. Before her, the then Vice President, Professor Gilbert Bukenya, had done the same. Indeed many politically influential Africans appeal to the power of witchcraft. But what is witchcraft? Why does it persist in Africa? And how do we respond to it as Christians?”
Flashback: On Being Thought Well of By Outsiders
An elder must have the respect not only of believers but also of unbelievers. And here is how this one challenges me: To be respected he must be known.

More skepticism may be traced to a neglected prayer closet than to the arguments of infidels or the halls of secularists. —F.B. Meyer

We are digging out after a massive snowstorm yesterday–possibly the biggest I’ve ever seen around these parts. These blizzards never quite lose their wonder…

Today’s Kindle deals include a few books that are worth a look.
(Yesterday on the blog: What Does It Mean To Trust God in Our Trials?)
The Breath of God
Interestingly, I found two articles yesterday that focused on the same theme: the breath of God. “Breathe on us, O Lord, and in us. Breathe love. Breathe hope. Breathe courage into us who walk in the shadows of fear. Breathe joy into us who calibrate our existence by disappointment.”
The Breath of the Lion
And here’s the second: “But this morning, even as we are still feeling sick from Covid, I find myself longing for the breath of God. I find myself fighting to fleshly urge to flee from him into busyness or productivity, intentionally training myself to linger in his presence.”
The Reformation Study Bible, Student Edition
Ligonier Ministries recently released an edition of their popular Reformation Study Bible with many new features for students and young adults. This week, you can use code CHALLIES in the Ligonier store to save an extra 5% on the Reformation Study Bible, Student Edition in any cover style or color. (Sponsored Link)
Losing a Child
This is a brief interview with Christian musician TobyMac whose son passed away a couple of years ago. He offers some very helpful thoughts about loss.
Peace in Acceptance
Sarah reflects on acceptance. “‘Peace and joy begin with acceptance.’ And God’s been providing many lessons in the classroom of ‘acceptance’ lately. Not ‘resignation’, but ‘acceptance. Resignation connotates giving up and laying down in defeat, whereas acceptance connotates believing and trusting that the One who does have control is good and trustworthy, even when I can’t see it in the moment.”
When Everyone Plays His Part
“We all have a tendency to look at what is most celebrated and to aspire after it.” Yet, as Nick Batzig says here, joy comes when each of us plays the part God has assigned us.
Flashback: Don’t Drop the Rock!
Sin is never simple. Sin is never harmless. Sin is always selfish, always an occasion of harm not only to the sinner but to the whole church.

Nagging and scolding never yet made anybody godly! Constant pointing out of blemishes never cured anyone of his blemishes! —J.R. Miller

What does it mean to have faith? What does it mean to believe in God’s promises? What does it mean to have confidence that God is who he says he is and that God will do what he says he will do? What is the nature of that faith, that belief, that confidence?

There are times during this long and wearying pilgrimage when we undergo severe tests of our faith—tests that are often related to our losses and bereavements. Even if we are never tempted to cast off all allegiance to Christ or to throw away all desire to follow in his ways, we may still be challenged to believe—or not believe—that what God says is true—true about life and death, true about earth and heaven, true about time and eternity. We may face the kind of challenge that calls us to live in one way if we believe and to live in another if we do not.
There are days when we believe as an instinct, as the natural impulse of the heart and mind. In such days we easily and immediately regard it as unassailably true that heaven is real, that Providence is kind, that God is working all things for good, that even our deepest griefs will someday prove to be light and momentary afflictions when measured against an eternal weight of glory.
But then there are days when we believe as a decision, as an act of the will. While some days the most instinctual words out of our mouths are confident, other days they are hesitant. Some days we have all the boldness of Peter and other days all the hesitation of Thomas. On some days we proclaim, “I believe” but on others we plead, “please help my unbelief.” Or perhaps the best we can do is pose our faith as a question, a kind of self-interrogation: “I do believe, right?”
While we prefer the former days, we have to learn to embrace the latter, to learn that faith is not passive but active, not always an instinct of the heart but often an act of the will—and to learn that faith is no less real when it comes as a decision rather than a compulsion. Faith is often choosing to believe in the face of grief, the face of adversity, the face even of doubt. Faith is not less than intellectual, but is certainly far more: it is grasping and reaching toward divine promises, taking hold of what God has said to be true, clinging to it with whatever conviction we can muster, and pleading—pleading earnestly—that God will be powerfully present in his grace and comfort.
Trusting God, we learn, is not just a matter of recalling knowledge in a moment of need, but applying the whole heart, soul, strength, and mind to accept and believe it—even when the heart is broken and the soul weary, even when strength is sapped and the mind bewildered. Faith is complicated, not simple, and difficult, not easy. Like so much else in life, faith takes practice and rewards diligence. Faith brings us far beyond the end of ourselves and leaves us utterly dependent upon the goodness and mercy of a loving God.
What does it mean to trust God? It means that in our lowest moments we will resolve to believe that what God says is true. It means that even in our darkest valleys we will determine to take God at his word. It means that even when we don’t know what to do or where to go, we will look to God with faith and, as either an immediate instinct or a deliberate act of the will, anchor ourselves on the One who has promised that his every word proves true and reliable, that he will shelter and protect all those who run to him for refuge.

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Angel of Patience)
Five Things I Learned as a Pastor’s Kid
Samuel James grew up a PK and offers a few of the lessons he learned along the way.
Will Few Be Saved?
“On several occasions the gospels record Jesus teaching that only a few will be saved (Matthew 7:14, Matthew 22:14, and Luke 13:23). Careful readers of Scripture should begin to wrestle with how these passages found in the gospels fit together with other passages that teach that many will be saved.” So how can those be reconciled?
A Whale of a Story (Video)
“Humpback whales. They are among the largest and most magnificent creatures on Earth. But how did these warm blooded, air-breathing, fully aquatic mammals come into existence? Evolutionary scientists have long proposed a slow, gradual process driven by random mutations and natural selection. Yet, 21st century biology and genetics have clearly revealed that these naturalistic explanations are woefully inadequate. Instead, the most convincing evidence for their creation now points to intelligent design.”
Virtual Vocation
Gene Veith considers TikTokers and other influencers to consider whether what they do could be classified as a vocation in the Christian sense of the term.
Our escape room
In her latest column, Andrée Seu Peterson writes about an escape room, of all things.
In What Sense is Jesus a Nazarene?
“When you come to a passage that you don’t understand, it’s always a good idea to jot down a note to further study to learn what the text means. We encounter one such section of Scripture in the Advent readings in Matthew’s gospel: ‘And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.’ (Matt. 2:23)”
Flashback: For the Christian Who Is Afraid To Die
What we know of life after death we must know by faith. And what does the faithful heart believe about the experience of death? James Meikle beautifully tells us in these words.

Two sorts of peace are more to be dreaded than all the troubles in the world: peace with sin, and peace in sin. —Joseph Alleine

It never ceases to amaze me how precious truths can become dearer still when interpreted through the poet’s pen. Here is a wonderful bit of verse from John Greenleaf Whittier as he masterfully speaks of God’s comfort in our sorrows and losses.

To weary hearts, to mourning homes,God’s meekest Angel gently comes;No power has he to banish pain,Or give us back our lost again;And yet in tenderest love, our dearAnd Heavenly Father sends him here.
There’s quiet in that Angel’s glance,There’s rest in his still countenance!He mocks no grief with idle cheer,Nor wounds with words the mourner’s ear;But ills and woes he may not cureHe kindly trains us to endure.
Angel of Patience! sent to calmOur feverish brows with cooling palm;To lay the storms of hope and fear,And reconcile life’s smile and tear;The throbs of wounded pride to still,And make our own our Father’s will.
O thou who mournest on thy way,With longings for the close of day;He walks with thee, that Angel kind,And gently whispers, “Be resignedBear up, bear on, the end shall tellThe dear Lord ordereth all things well!”

Good morning and good day to you!

Today’s Kindle deals include some classics.
(Yesterday on the blog: I Still Do: A Marriage Course for the Middle Years)
The Power of Questions
I enjoyed this look at the rhetorical power of questions—and the different kinds we can pose.
Everywhere spoken against
Janie B. Cheaney considers Anne Rice’s strange legacy. “It seemed improbable for a wildly popular author of paranormal and erotic fiction to fall in love with Jesus. But spiritual pilgrimage characterized most of her life, from Catholicism to mysticism to atheism to agnosticism and back home to the church of her childhood. And beyond. For, after publicly dedicating her craft to Christ and producing three novels about His life, she took one more step.” The step she took, of course, was walking away from the church.
Who in the world am I preaching to?
This is an excellent article by Andrew Roycroft. “The clarity of my speech will matter, the integrity of my exegesis will count for a lot, the fervency of my prayers is crucial, but self-consciously thinking through who I am addressing can easily slip from the list of priorities. In this post I want to suggest that this is a key mistake, and one which can act as barrier to effective communication from the pulpit.”
Safe To Be Me
“‘Safe To Be Me’ is the name of a conference the UK government are organising in 2022 to promote LGBT rights around the world. I think the conference title is ingenuous. In just four words, it unites two big, popular ideas: safeguarding and identity politics, and rolls them into a moral agenda.” Yet, as this writer shows, “But Jesus Christ is the only person qualified to organise that conference, because Jesus Christ is the only human who can actually say: ‘it’s safe to be me’.”
Love Your Neighbour! How?
“The default view of many, it seems, is that loving your neighbour means expressing kindness in the way our culture and the media has defined kindness for us.  The basic idea is that Christians should be leading the way in expressing kindness as it has been defined.  But how is the world’s track record at defining what is right or wrong?”
Song of Songs: The Intoxication of True Love in its Time
You may want to bookmark this outline and overview of Song of Songs.
Flashback: Aging Gracefully
Every day, we are all building the house we will live in when old age comes. Some of us are building a beautiful palace. Some are building a dark prison. What are you building?

Most of us are prepared to love others only up to the point where it begins to actually cost us. —Jared C. Wilson

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Zondervan Academic, who also sponsored the blog this week. They are giving away FIVE sets of Wayne Grudem’s Christian Beliefs, Revised Edition, and Christian Beliefs Study Guide.

Here is more about the books:
Christian Beliefs, Revised Edition
Not every Christian needs to go to seminary, but there are certain teachings of the Bible that every Christian should know. Whether you’re a relatively new believer in Jesus or a mature Christian looking for a better understanding of the basics of the faith, Christian Beliefs are for you.
This readable guide to twenty basic Christian beliefs condenses Wayne Grudem’s award-winning book Systematic Theology, prized by pastors and teachers everywhere. He and his son, pastor Elliot Grudem, have boiled down the essentials of theology for everyday Christians and made them both clear and applicable to life. Each brief chapter concludes with questions for personal review or group discussion.
In this revised and updated edition of Christian Beliefs, you will learn about:

The Bible and its authority for our lives
The characteristics of God
The importance of prayer
Angels and the reality of spiritual warfare
What it means that we are created in the image of God
What God has done for us in Christ
The purpose of the church
What will happen when Christ returns
The biblical understanding of heaven
And much more

Christian Beliefs is the ideal book for every Christian who wants a solid foundation for understanding the most basic and essential teachings of the Bible.
 Christian Beliefs Study Guide
Whether you’re a relatively new believer in Jesus or a mature Christian looking for a better understanding of basics of the faith, the Christian Beliefs Study Guide can help you reflect on and deeply internalize the core teachings of Christianity
Chapter by chapter, this STUDY GUIDE will lead you to examine and reflect on Christian Beliefs, revised edition, by providing:

Summary: A short summary of the chapter to help remind readers what they read.
Key terms: Definitions of important terminology introduced in the chapter.
Key quotes: Selection of one or two key quotes from the chapter.
Central Scripture Passage: An important biblical passage related to the chapter for reflection or memorization.
Content Questions: Questions that reflect on the theological content of the chapter.
Practical Application Questions: Questions that help tie the theological content of the chapter to real-life situations.
For Further Reading: Lists where to find more information on theological topics in Systematic Theology, second edition, by Wayne Grudem so readers know where to go for a deeper dive into specific subjects they want to know more about.

Go here to find out more about Christian Beliefs.

Enter Here
Again, there are five packages to win. And all you need to do to enter the draw is to drop your name and email address in the form below.
Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon. If you are viewing this through email, click to visit my site and enter there.

It has been my observation that churches tend to invest a fair bit of effort in preparing couples to begin a healthy marriage, but perhaps a little less in helping couples sustain a healthy marriage. We offer pre-marriage seminars designed to deliberately help a couple better understand the challenges that will come their way in the years ahead, but don’t offer as many seminars deliberately designed to help couples through the middle and later years of marriage and, thus, through issues like sorrow, loss, declining sexuality, empty-nesting, unmet expectations, unresolved conflict, and so on.

I wanted to address this in my church (and in my own marriage, for that), so decided to lead a marriage seminar that would appeal specifically to couples who have been married for at least a decade and perhaps even several. I built it around Dave Harvey’s I Still Do: Growing Closer and Stronger through Life’s Defining Moments—a book that is meant to foster a marriage that is lasting and durable. With Dave doing the heavy lifting, I put a good deal of effort into creating questions that would prompt conversation and prayer between the couples and also lead to helpful group discussions.
Because I expect others may benefit from such a course, I thought I’d share the material and make it freely available for you to download for your own purposes, whether that’s to lead a course with others or just go through the material with your spouse. You are free to download it, use it, edit it, and so on. You need give no credit to me.
I would recommend having an experienced and credible individual or couple lead the course and would also recommend keeping the group size relatively small as a means of fostering openness and vulnerability in times of corporate discussion. The six sessions are structured in such a way that each couple will read two chapters together, answer a number of questions, then meet with the group for further learning and discussion. Group meetings should be scheduled for about 90 minutes. For each session there is a Question sheet which is sent to the couples in advance and a Discussion sheet which is for the leader to use at the seminar. Those who wish to extend the course to 12 weeks can easily split each session in half. Each couple will need to have a copy of I Still Do (Amazon, Westminster Books) and the leader should purchase a copy of the Study Guide (Amazon, Westminster Books) since a few of the questions are drawn from it.
Here are all the files in a variety of formats:

Introduction, Information, and Expectations: PDF, Pages, Word
Session 1 (Questions: PDF, Pages, Word | Discussion: PDF, Pages, Word)
Session 2 (Questions: PDF, Pages, Word | Discussion: PDF, Pages, Word)
Session 3 (Questions: PDF, Pages, Word | Discussion: PDF, Pages, Word)
Session 4 (Questions: PDF, Pages, Word | Discussion: PDF, Pages, Word)
Session 5 (Questions: PDF, Pages, Word | Discussion: PDF, Pages, Word)
Session 6 (Questions: PDF, Pages, Word | Discussion: PDF, Pages, Word)
Or: Download everything in one zip file

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

The Reformed Expository Commentary series has finally published their volume for Romans and Westminster Books has it heavily discounted. The series is ideal for pastors or general readers.
What to Do When Your Resolutions Start Dissolving
Reagan Rose: “We’re officially two weeks into 2022. And two weeks also happens to be the average life span of a new year’s resolution. So, even if you’re finding your big plans for ‘new year, new me’ are already floundering, I’d like to offer you a few notes of encouragement.”
The Case for Not Treating NFTs as a Scam
I don’t really understand NFTs and am not convinced they are the future. But maybe you’ll be mocking me for that statement a few years from now. Either way, CT has a case for not treating them as a scam.
Unoffendable
“I will never know what might have happened if our neighbor hadn’t intervened. My heart was flailing, as I stood wide-eyed, attempting to fill the frame of our front door. It was my hope to shield my children’s view of this woman, a futile plan, given this creature who was now screaming at me, a Jezebel in the flesh, eyes blazing and nostrils flaring.” So begins Kristin’s account of her journey to becoming unoffendable.
Is It Ethical to Transplant a Pig Heart into a Human?
“In a medical first, surgeons transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a human patient. Is such animal-to-human transplantation ethical?” Joe Carter takes a look at a story right out of the headlines.
Finding God’s Grace Sufficient in a Messy Relationship
Cara tells how she found God’s grace sufficient even in a tremendously messy and painful relationship.
The Grace of Warning
“What a gift of God’s grace to be alerted to what is coming, whether it’s a tornado, a flood, or God’s final judgement. Just as a loving parent warns their child not to touch the stove because they could be severely injured, so does our heavenly father warn His children of the consequences of sinful rebellion and disobedience.”
Flashback: God Hates Hypocrisy
At heart, hypocrisy is theatrical religion, religion as a means of personal enrichment or enhanced reputation. It is an abomination to the God who sees and knows the heart.

Prayer gives us permission to leave circumstances undone. We can entrust them to the God who watches over them and never blinks. —John Onwuchekwa