Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Westminster Books has a sale on the fledgling EBTC commentary series which has gotten off to a very strong start with volumes by James Hamilton, Thomas Schreiner, Andreas Köstenberger, and others. It’s great to begin collecting a series when it has only just begun!
(Yesterday on the blog: The Legend of the Battle-Weary Crusader)
My Christmas Gift Bought with a Child’s Heart
I love this one. “Suddenly shy, my six-year-old hesitated, a worried brow replaced his eagerness. His eyes lost some of their shiny dance. Grasped between small hands of offering, he stretched it toward me, then sat back on his haunches. Behind him, lights from the tree twinkled, a kaleidoscope halo of color. His eyes never left mine, and I recognized how desperately he desired to please me with his present. I saw bare longing in his wide broody dark blue eyes. I felt their desire.”
God’s Plan When Our Plans Fail
I think you’ll enjoy reading some thoughts from John Piper on how God’s plan proceeds even when our plans fail.
“Millions are Dying Without Christ”: Thinking Through a Popular But Insufficient Reason to Move Overseas
“There’s much to love about this impulse. … And yet, I try to remind my Christian friend that this fact by itself isn’t a sufficient motivation for someone to enter cross-cultural ministry. For at least two reasons.”
Finding a Church That Suits Our Every Need and Desire Is Not the Ultimate Purpose of Church
Benjamin Watson says, rightly, that “finding a church that suits my every need and desire is NOT the ultimate purpose of attending church. The primary purpose of church is gathering together in song, prayer, proclamation, and admonition to worship the Lord. Church is about Him, not me.”
A Great Way To Make Friends
Yes, it really can be this simple.
Comfort for Christian Parents of Unconverted Children
Jim Elliff: “All Christian parents wish that God would show us something to do to secure our child’s salvation, and then ‘we’ll do it with all our might’ because we love our child so much. Yet, God has not made salvation the effect of somebody else’s faith; our son or daughter must come to Christ on his or her own.”
Flashback: Momentary Obedience, Forever Honor
How do we show honor to our parents, especially when we are adults?

There are some of us old-fashioned Christians, who still believe that a loving God creates dark nights as well as bright noon-days; that he not only permits trouble, but sometimes sends troubles on his own children for their spiritual profit. —Theodore Cuyler

Somewhere, buried deep in the collected works of one of those old authors I love so well, I read the story—the legend perhaps—of a battle-weary crusader who had returned from the Holy Land. The years spent far from his home in England, and all the horrors he had witnessed in battle, had served to temper his character. He now longed for nothing more than to retire to his estates and to oversee his lands and holdings.

Terrible memories and horrifying dreams were not the only thing that returned with him, for he also carried a little leather pouch that was filled with seeds. As he had marched through the countryside outside Jerusalem, his eye had often alighted upon a beautiful white flower that covered the hills like a gentle blanket. He had eventually determined he would collect some of its seeds and carefully transport them home to see if they could grow in the vastly different climate of southern England.
And sure enough, the seeds proved hardy and quickly sprouted and grew. Year after year they responded to the first warm rays of the spring sun and brought forth their precious white blooms. Year after year they reminded the Crusader of a different place, a different time, a different country. Year after year they delighted his heart. They were a little bit of a distant land there in his homeland.
And though centuries have past, though the old knight has long since died and his estates given way to dust, you can still find those flowers growing in that very spot. If you visit the holdings that were once his, and especially if you visit in the first days of spring, you will find those flowers sprouting from the ground—still out of place but still growing and thriving, still displaying the beauty of a far-off country.
And just so, the words of Jesus are like seeds that have been transported from heaven and then planted in a land where they are most conspicuous for being out-of-place. Yet though they may be out-of-place, though this may not be their native land, still they have proven hardy—they have put down roots and begun to grow and to thrive. They have taken root inside you and me.
In that way, each of us who is in Christ is tending a little garden in which heavenly seeds have been planted and begun to thrive—seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Each of us is responsible to tend that garden, to foster the growth of those precious seeds, and to watch with joy as they come to fuller and fuller bloom. Each of us has the joy and the sacred responsibility of displaying the beauty, the glory, of a foreign land here in this broken world.

May the Lord bless and keep you today.

Logos users: Beyond this month’s free and nearly free stuff, you may also want to look at the Christmas sale as well as the sale on Baker commentaries and resources.
Your Online Life Is Real Life
Chris Martin says, “We need to talk about a very real, very frightening phenomenon: a lot of people truly see their online activity and their offline activity as totally separate existences.” (And while we’re talking about Chris Martin, you may enjoy his Saturday newsletter The Funnies. It’s kind of a modern-day equivalent of the weekend comic section in a newspaper.)
How Mary’s Song Bridges The Old and New Testament
Here’s a brief look at how Mary’s song stands between the OT and NT (and why it matters).
Seasons change
“Trees. Luminous in the forest. As the dying begins. Letting go. Piece by piece. Leaf by leaf. Orange. Yellow. Red. Beautiful. And certain. Seasons change.”
The Best Is Yet To Come (Video)
I’m really enjoying this hopeful new song from Ben Rector which says, in the chorus, “the best is yet to come.”
A Pillar of Salt
“Advent tells me that my idea of Christmas is manufactured nostalgia, a good portion of which is created by people who want to sell me things. They don’t want me to be satisfied, or to learn to wait, or to wrestle the darkness—they want me just the right sort of sad to buy more things. Advent as celebrated in the liturgical churches says look forwards, not backwards.”
Merry Gnostic Christmas
Stephen Kneale follows up yesterday’s article about simply enjoying Christmas with some further thoughts. “The fact is, over-spiritualising stuff is a joy-killer. Everything has spiritual value if it is done to the glory of God. So long as we aren’t sinning, we can thank God for good gifts (whatever they are) and just enjoy ourselves. That is alright. Even at Christmas.”
Flashback: 4 Seasons When You Will Face Temptation
…temptations are not entirely unpredictable, and there are certain times in life in which they are more likely to press hard than in others. Here are 4 times or seasons in which you need to be especially vigilant against temptation.

When our faith is starving, a record of answered prayer is like a trail of breadcrumbs leading us back to God’s faithfulness. —John Onwuchekwa

May the God of love and peace be with you on this fine day.

At Westminster Books this week you can get a deal on Richard Gamble’s massive three-volume series on the whole counsel of God.
(Yesterday on the blog: What Matters Is Not the Size of Your Faith)
Stop Binding Consciences And Marking Spirituality By Christmas Celebrations
This is a good and necessary reminder. “Christmas is not in the Bible. You don’t have to do it and you don’t have to avoid it either. We are entirely free. Your spiritual temperature is not determined by whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Neither does your love for Jesus depend on whether you manage to make Jesus the absolute epicentre of your celebration, with every bauble reflecting gospel truth, or you just enjoy having a nice time and give thanks to God for it like you would any other enjoyable thing. None of it, really, tells you very much about your love for Christ.”
The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife Fiasco
If you’ve never read about the fiasco related to Jesus’ supposed wife, this article may be of interest. (Also consider reading the book Veritas which offers far more detail).
Bethlehem’s Supernatural Star
This is a helpful thought from John Piper: “I risk a generalization to warn you: people who are exercised and preoccupied with such things, as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood, are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal.”
The Most Miserable Time of the Year
Sticking with the Christmas theme, here’s Al Gooderham on getting Christmas wrong. “Yes our world so often loses Jesus in the suffocating press of the tinsel and gifts and experiences and meals. But what if we had too? What if instead of haranguing society and preaching a gospel that seems to be dead against joy we showed them what they were missing?”
Who Wrote Hebrews? Exploring a New Testament Mystery
Here’s a fairly lengthy look at one of those age-old mysteries.
The Life of Naomi and How Adversity Disguises God at Work
Deborah McQuilkin: “My life as a Christian is not what I expected. In fact, at one point I said to God, ‘Is this worth it? Thirty years I have followed you as closely as possible, and this is how it turns out? Should I just leave you now? What is the point?’ Shock and disappointment filled my heart and I wondered what my life meant.”
Flashback: Sexual Revolution, Same Old Revolution
Today we are watching people all around us revolt away from justice, away from truth, away from common sense, away from the common good. The revolution rages around us and sometimes within us.

Shaky preaching tends to make shaky Christians. —Theodore Cuyler

I have been blogging at Challies.com on a daily basis for just over 18 years now. That long commitment has allowed me to write thousands of articles and hundreds of book reviews while also sending millions of visitors to other sites through the daily A La Carte feature. While I have also written a number of books and filmed quite a lot of videos, the blog has always remained the “main thing.” Over the past few years much of the site’s content has also been translated to Spanish and other languages—a fact that brings me great joy.

One of my great desires through this time has been to freely give away as much as possible. I intend for it to always remain entirely free for all who visit. While for obvious reasons I cannot give away my books, I’ve made it my goal to ensure that just about everything else has been freely and widely distributed. This has been possible largely because of advertisers. However, as the internet continues to develop and the advertising market continues to shift, this is no longer quite as easy as it once was. Similarly, affiliate programs are generally becoming weaker, not stronger, over time.
This is where patrons come in. Patreon provides a means of linking content producers (like me) with supporters (like you). I believe a model like this is key to a sustainable path into the future for sites like mine.
To that end, just about once a year I like to ask those who regularly read this site to prayerfully consider supporting me by becoming a patron. By supporting me with even a very modest monthly gift, you will be able to be part of this ongoing work. Funds donated will be used to support my family and to help create great content or to otherwise improve, support, and enhance Challies.com. In one way or another they will all be used to allow me to continue to do what I have been doing for these past 18 years.
Please understand that I intend for Challies.com to always remain entirely free. In fact, patrons help ensure that it always remains that way.
Thank you for considering becoming a patron of Challies.com. Your support means so much to me.
(I’m also sometimes asked about one-time gifts. If that is of interest to you, they can be forwarded by PayPal or by check to the mailing address listed here.)

This week the blog is sponsored by The Master’s Academy International (TMAI).

As you come into God’s presence each day, may you be reminded that He’s at work among the nations.
To help you with that, Declaring His Glory Among the Nations is yours to enjoy for free from The Master’s Academy International—a global training ministry that began at the request of local pastors around the world.
Request your free copy today. Available to U.S. address only.
The Origins of TMAI
When the Soviet Union finally collapsed 30 years ago, a group of Christians in Ukraine used their freedom to contact John MacArthur. 
Many of these men were pastors, and several of them had spent time in Soviet prison. But now that they were free, they wanted to pursue what was only until that point a dream—formal training in Bible exposition.
They were asking if perhaps John and other trained men could visit Ukraine and teach a conference.
In God’s providence, the conference came together and went off with success. 
But afterwards, Ukraine’s pastors knew they still needed more training, so they asked John MacArthur to help send them full-time teachers. Through this and more providences, what began as a conference eventually became a seminary—and in time, a model for an international training ministry.
The Model of TMAI’s Ministry
Today, Ukraine’s story isn’t so unique anymore. Similar requests for pastoral training have poured in from every major region of the world. And as missionaries began to answer these calls and head to the field in greater numbers, The Master’s Academy International (TMAI) was formed to unite these training efforts. 
To date, God has blessed TMAI with 17 training centers across the globe—and that number is expected to double in the next 5 years. But as a testimony to the world’s ongoing need for trained pastors, it’s crucial to note that TMAI’s students and alumni represent 86 different countries. Clearly the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few—and that’s exactly why our work must remain focused for maximum impact.
In line with our Lord’s Great Commission, TMAI’s target mission is to make disciples who declare His glory among the nations. But unlike many modern missionary efforts, TMAI strategically invests in local church leadership. The reason is simple: Training one pastor strengthens an entire congregation. By investing in the maturity of these men, TMAI helps to ensure that they’ll be equipped to go forward and raise another generation of biblically sound disciples. And in this spirit of discipleship, TMAI’s long-term goal is to see each and every training center entrusted into the hands of a 100% indigenous faculty who will continue this work for years to come. By God’s grace, this goal has already been realized in over half of our current schools.
Enjoy Our FREE Gift to You
John MacArthur has said of TMAI, “I believe the history and impact of these schools is the greatest missions story of our time.” 
To help you see more of what God is doing through this global network of training centers, we’d like you to hear for yourself how Scripture rings in the hearts of these men on the field. Over 200 church leaders from TMAI’s faculty and graduate bodies have come together to create a year-round devotional titled Declaring His Glory Among the Nations that we’re shipping to you for free while supplies last.
“As you read each devotional, you’ll see and be reminded that no matter the need or issue—whether it’s witchcraft in Malawi, gang violence in Honduras, or persecution in the Middle East—God’s word has the answers. Scripture alone is supreme and sufficient—its truth transcends location, language, culture, and worldview” (back cover). 
Please enjoy this free resource as a reminder of the global nature of gospel ministry and the unchanging glory of God. Reminder for U.S. addresses only. 
Request your free copy today at www.tmai.org/challies.
Learn more how to support TMAI at www.tmai.org.

We aren’t certain whether gold is pure or alloyed until it is tested in the fire. We don’t know whether steel is rigid or brittle until it is tested by stress. We can’t have confidence that water is pure until it passes through a filter. And in much the same way, we don’t know what our faith is made of until we face trials. It is the testing of our faith that displays its genuineness, says Peter, and it is passing through the trial that generates praise and glory and honor. Though we do not wish to endure trials and do not deliberately bring them upon ourselves, we know that in the providence of God they are purposeful and meaningful, that they are divine means to make us “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

There are many who face trials and do not pass the test. Some face physical pain and through it grow angry with God and determine they cannot love a God who lets them endure such difficulties. Some face the possibility of persecution and find they prefer to run from the faith than to suffer for it. Some have children who turn to aberrant sexual practices and who prefer to renounce God than fail to affirm their kids. Some watch loved ones suffer and die and determine that a God who permits such things is not worthy of their love, their trust, their admiration. In these ways and so many more, some are tested and, through the test, shown to have a faith that is fraudulent.
Yet there are many others who face such trials and emerge with their faith not only intact, but strengthened. They face physical pain and through it grow in submission to God and confidence in his purposes. They face the possibility of persecution and find they would prefer to suffer than to deny the God who has saved them. They have children who turn to aberrant sexual practices and, though they still love their kids, refuse to affirm them. They watch loved ones suffer and die and say, in meekness, that the God with the right to give is the God with the right to take away.
What fascinates me is how bad we are at predicting who will pass the test and who will not. We sometimes look at people who have accumulated great stores of Bible trivia and great knowledge of Christian doctrine and assume they are the ones who will necessarily pass through the fire unharmed. Yet these are sometimes the ones who turn away at the first heat. We sometimes look at people who have only a rudimentary store of Bible trivia and little knowledge of Christian doctrine and assume they are the ones who will be first to waver, stumble, and fall. Yet these are often the ones who cling most tenaciously. We are not nearly as wise, not nearly as discerning, as we may have thought.
All of this goes to prove that what matters is not the size of a person’s faith, but its object. What secures us in our trials is not the magnitude of our faith, but the power of the one in whom we have placed it. The smallest bit of faith in God is worth infinitely more than the greatest bit of faith in ourselves, or the strongest measure of faith in faith itself. Faith counts for nothing unless its object is Jesus Christ.
Thus, when the fire burns hot, we learn to our surprise that some may have had tremendous faith in themselves, but no faith in Jesus. When the floods rise high, we learn to our shock that some may have had faith in faith, but no faith in the Lord of all the universe. Yet when others pass through the flames, we learn to our joy that though their faith may have been little greater than a mustard seed, its object was the eternal, immortal God. When the waters swell around them and it seems as if they may go under, we learn to the satisfaction of our souls that though their faith may have been very small, it was faith in the one who is the Rock. We learn, with praise in our hearts, that they have been held fast by the one who is the glorious object of their unwavering faith.

Good morning, my friends. Grace and peace to you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: Lost Is Her Treasure But Where Is Her Trust?)
The Letter of the Law?
In this one, Chris Hutchinson means to show that “the spirit” and “the letter” of the law are not two competing ways of reading the Bible.
When You’re Weary of Doing Good Work
Lauren Washer says, “Sometimes I grow weary of doing good, and I wonder if maybe you can relate. But here’s the thing: we’re not supposed to give up on the good work in front of us. God’s people aren’t allowed to be quitters. If we are in Christ, we are in it for the long-haul. And guess what? We’re not actually very good at this. (Well, maybe you are, and if you are, praise the Lord. But me? It doesn’t come naturally).”
Can Christians Be Under A Curse?
I have known many people who have been concerned that they may be under a curse. Mario Peter addresses that fear in this article from Equip Indian Churches.
Engaging CT’s Piece on “Side B Christians”
Christianity Today recently ran a piece about “Side B Christians,” and Denny Burk engages with it in this article.
20 Years
Here’s a reflection on what the Lord may do in a life over 20 years.
We Don’t Waste Our Trials When We Pray to God
Women may be the primary audience for this one, but it applies to us all. “Sisters, let’s strive to become women who pray, women who know how to pray on our knees with thanksgiving not only when the trials come, but even before the ‘big’ trials come. Being in the Word and persevering in fervent in prayer are necessary to prepare us for the next trial, the next temptation we´ll face, and the next deliverance we’ll see. Let us strive to become women who pray at all times.”
Flashback: Do Not Admit a Charge Against an Elder, Except…
It is clear: the testimony of a single witness cannot be the determining factor in charging a pastor with wrongdoing.

The weakest faith gets the same strong Christ as does the strongest faith. —Sinclair Ferguson

May the Lord bless and keep you this weekend.

I’m very grateful to ShareWord for sponsoring the blog this week with some important news.
Today’s Kindle deals include a selection of excellent commentaries and other works.
(Yesterday on the blog: A December Family Update (and Non-Travel Report)
Unfiltered Christmas
Here’s an encouragement to have an unfiltered Christmas. “Material beauty will never be enough. The best of earth will never meet the deepest longing of our brokenness. We long, like pining Bethlehem, for our Mighty God to do great things for us. And He has.”
Do You Ever Feel Rushed by the Beauty of Forgiveness?
Brad Hambrick  says, “It’s worth asking, what part of forgiveness is beautiful? The answer is, the last part. The early and middle parts of forgiveness are heinous. They are the parts of the movie or novel that cause us to cringe.”
The Snowflake Mystery (Video)
This is a really neat video about the mysteries behind snowflakes.
Social Activism and the New Testament
There are some really interesting points made in this article. “The New Testament chiefly concerns itself with individuals, households, and local assemblies of Christians, and it is not hard to see why. A society characterized by justice, mercy, and faithfulness is only possible insofar as individuals themselves actually do the much harder, less glamorous work of embodying those virtues. One must rid the garden of snakes before seeking dragons to slay abroad.”
Reign with Christ, Hold the Suffering
“There is no reigning with Christ without suffering marking the life of a believer. It is not possible to order off the Christians menu, requesting to ‘hold the suffering’.”
Blame It on Luther?
Carl Trueman makes an astute observation here: “It is always easier to blame the other side for the dark crimes of history while assuring ourselves that it would have been so much better if we had been in charge.”
Flashback: Sweet Promises of Blessing, Terrible Threats of Judgment
How do we, as adults, show honor to our parents? What are our continuing obligations? What about parents who are difficult, absent, abusive, or even dead?

It is well to be familiar with the whole system of Christian doctrine. But it is far better to know repentance by experience and to feel it inwardly in our own hearts. —J.C. Ryle

I turned 45 yesterday. My birthday was supposed to arrive when I was somewhere high over the Atlantic, perhaps just off the coast of Namibia, at the front end of a monster 16-hour homeward flight. I should have long since fallen asleep, and not known exactly where I was when the clock struck midnight, nor even what time zone it might have been. I suppose it’s possible that I would have turned 45 a few times while flying briskly from east to west, from South Africa to North America.

But as it happened, I turned 45 in my own home and my own bed. There was an alternate version of my week where I had traveled to South Africa, then Zambia, then Zimbabwe to do a little preaching, to visit some ministries, and to be part of a conference. I went to bed Thursday night thinking all this would happen. I had even checked in to my flights and gone off to get the negative COVID test that would allow me to enter those countries. But when I awoke on Friday morning I quickly realized that none of it would happen, all thanks to the appearance of a new variant and the immediate international response to it. The countries I had planned to visit were the very countries deemed most unsafe and, had I arrived there, I expect I would have been stranded. So in the end I guess it worked out okay. Still, it was rather a disappointment to have the trip fall apart so close to departure.
I haven’t yet done any international travel since COVID struck and since Nick died. For many years it was a prominent part of my life and I do miss it from time to time—mostly the joy of experiencing Christian worship and fellowship in far-off places. Last week’s trip was to be my first journey in almost two years and I suspected it wasn’t going to be easy. There was a kind of fear that settled over my family the day Nick died—a fear related to a new awareness of the fragility of life. And while we are doing a bit better now than we were a few months ago, we still struggle to believe that we won’t experience other sorrows and losses, that the God who ordained one tragedy for us hasn’t ordained many more. It still feels intimidating to be apart, and especially an ocean apart. But, in God’s providence, that didn’t happen anyway.
That said, it may in the month ahead. Abby has returned from Boyce College for her Christmas break—the final time she will move back into our home before beginning one of her own following her wedding in May. Though she will mostly be working at a nearby grocery store through the winter break, she and I also plan to sneak away for a little trip together—one that was supposed to happen almost two years ago, but has been repeatedly postponed through the pandemic. When the kids were small I told them I’d save all my travel miles and hotel points from all my trips and then use it all to take them each somewhere special. This is what Abby and I hope to do later in the month. But, as always, we are at the mercy of the pandemic and, as it happens, Canada just tightened up all the travel rules again this week. So we will see. Aileen continues to work part time while holding things down around the home, while Michaela has another two weeks at high school before she gets a couple of weeks off. Then we will hopefully settle in for a sweet and restful holiday season together.
As for me, I recently completed a major book project I will be able to tell you about in the coming months. It should be on store shelves in September of 2022. Of all I have ever written, it is my favorite and I hope it will serve the church well. In the next few weeks I’ll be starting another book while, of course, continuing to emphasize the blog. And speaking of the blog, on the first day of November I hit the 18-year anniversary of daily blogging. I’ve been at this for a long time! And, I hope, will be for many more years.
And on that note, let me thank you for reading this article and for reading this blog. It means so much to me that you continue to read along—it’s a tremendous blessing and encouragement. And for that reason and so many more, I wish you and yours God’s richest blessings in the holiday season ahead.