For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond. If I turned the pot so the flower was facing the room, within a day or two it would have turned to face the light. And if I rotated it again, the flower would respond in the same way, turning itself toward the light streaming in from the window. I could not fool it. I could not discourage it or persuade it to give up.
You cannot read about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ without noticing his love for the natural world. Many of his most vivid illustrations are drawn from nature—the birds, the plants, the trees, the winds. You often observe him making use of the natural elements that were right before him to help his listeners understand his teaching—the fig tree that failed to bear fruit, the fields that were white for harvest, the birds that were unconcerned about their next meal.
And in that vein, I learned a lesson from that little flower—the lesson of the potted plant. No matter how I turned the plant, it dutifully responded by realigning itself to face the light. No matter how many times I turned it and no matter how completely I turned it, it responded in the same way.
From the plant, I learned that life’s circumstances often turn us into times of darkness, times when we are overcome by pain, sorrow, or other trials. For a time the world around us may look dark and foreboding, like the Valley of the Shadow of Death is closing in around us and threatening to swallow us up. Yet our duty in such times is to look for the light and to turn toward it.
God never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward.Share
And there always will be a source of light, for our God never deserts or abandons us. He never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward. For God does not just have light or display light—he is light.
I’m certain that if I had taken my little potted plant to a dimly lit room in a hospital, it would still have turned toward whatever light came from the window, no matter how dim the source. I’m certain that if I took it to a prison cell with nothing but a single little window high above, it would lift its face toward that one shaft of light. It could not be stopped. It could not be discouraged. It could not be dissuaded.
And neither should we ever be dissuaded from turning toward the Lord in every circumstance. Our eyes may be weary and full of tears, the light may seem distant and dim, but the Lord is present, close to the broken-hearted and eager to save those who are crushed in spirit. It falls to us to simply turn and to look toward the light that streams from his presence and illumines us with his grace.

For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond. If I turned the pot so the flower was facing the room, within a day or two it would have turned to face the light. And if I rotated it again, the flower would respond in the same way, turning itself toward the light streaming in from the window. I could not fool it. I could not discourage it or persuade it to give up.
You cannot read about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ without noticing his love for the natural world. Many of his most vivid illustrations are drawn from nature—the birds, the plants, the trees, the winds. You often observe him making use of the natural elements that were right before him to help his listeners understand his teaching—the fig tree that failed to bear fruit, the fields that were white for harvest, the birds that were unconcerned about their next meal.
And in that vein, I learned a lesson from that little flower—the lesson of the potted plant. No matter how I turned the plant, it dutifully responded by realigning itself to face the light. No matter how many times I turned it and no matter how completely I turned it, it responded in the same way.
From the plant, I learned that life’s circumstances often turn us into times of darkness, times when we are overcome by pain, sorrow, or other trials. For a time the world around us may look dark and foreboding, like the Valley of the Shadow of Death is closing in around us and threatening to swallow us up. Yet our duty in such times is to look for the light and to turn toward it.
God never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward.Share
And there always will be a source of light, for our God never deserts or abandons us. He never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward. For God does not just have light or display light—he is light.
I’m certain that if I had taken my little potted plant to a dimly lit room in a hospital, it would still have turned toward whatever light came from the window, no matter how dim the source. I’m certain that if I took it to a prison cell with nothing but a single little window high above, it would lift its face toward that one shaft of light. It could not be stopped. It could not be discouraged. It could not be dissuaded.
And neither should we ever be dissuaded from turning toward the Lord in every circumstance. Our eyes may be weary and full of tears, the light may seem distant and dim, but the Lord is present, close to the broken-hearted and eager to save those who are crushed in spirit. It falls to us to simply turn and to look toward the light that streams from his presence and illumines us with his grace.

For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond. If I turned the pot so the flower was facing the room, within a day or two it would have turned to face the light. And if I rotated it again, the flower would respond in the same way, turning itself toward the light streaming in from the window. I could not fool it. I could not discourage it or persuade it to give up.
You cannot read about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ without noticing his love for the natural world. Many of his most vivid illustrations are drawn from nature—the birds, the plants, the trees, the winds. You often observe him making use of the natural elements that were right before him to help his listeners understand his teaching—the fig tree that failed to bear fruit, the fields that were white for harvest, the birds that were unconcerned about their next meal.
And in that vein, I learned a lesson from that little flower—the lesson of the potted plant. No matter how I turned the plant, it dutifully responded by realigning itself to face the light. No matter how many times I turned it and no matter how completely I turned it, it responded in the same way.
From the plant, I learned that life’s circumstances often turn us into times of darkness, times when we are overcome by pain, sorrow, or other trials. For a time the world around us may look dark and foreboding, like the Valley of the Shadow of Death is closing in around us and threatening to swallow us up. Yet our duty in such times is to look for the light and to turn toward it.
God never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward.Share
And there always will be a source of light, for our God never deserts or abandons us. He never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward. For God does not just have light or display light—he is light.
I’m certain that if I had taken my little potted plant to a dimly lit room in a hospital, it would still have turned toward whatever light came from the window, no matter how dim the source. I’m certain that if I took it to a prison cell with nothing but a single little window high above, it would lift its face toward that one shaft of light. It could not be stopped. It could not be discouraged. It could not be dissuaded.
And neither should we ever be dissuaded from turning toward the Lord in every circumstance. Our eyes may be weary and full of tears, the light may seem distant and dim, but the Lord is present, close to the broken-hearted and eager to save those who are crushed in spirit. It falls to us to simply turn and to look toward the light that streams from his presence and illumines us with his grace.

For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond. If I turned the pot so the flower was facing the room, within a day or two it would have turned to face the light. And if I rotated it again, the flower would respond in the same way, turning itself toward the light streaming in from the window. I could not fool it. I could not discourage it or persuade it to give up.
You cannot read about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ without noticing his love for the natural world. Many of his most vivid illustrations are drawn from nature—the birds, the plants, the trees, the winds. You often observe him making use of the natural elements that were right before him to help his listeners understand his teaching—the fig tree that failed to bear fruit, the fields that were white for harvest, the birds that were unconcerned about their next meal.
And in that vein, I learned a lesson from that little flower—the lesson of the potted plant. No matter how I turned the plant, it dutifully responded by realigning itself to face the light. No matter how many times I turned it and no matter how completely I turned it, it responded in the same way.
From the plant, I learned that life’s circumstances often turn us into times of darkness, times when we are overcome by pain, sorrow, or other trials. For a time the world around us may look dark and foreboding, like the Valley of the Shadow of Death is closing in around us and threatening to swallow us up. Yet our duty in such times is to look for the light and to turn toward it.
God never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward.Share
And there always will be a source of light, for our God never deserts or abandons us. He never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward. For God does not just have light or display light—he is light.
I’m certain that if I had taken my little potted plant to a dimly lit room in a hospital, it would still have turned toward whatever light came from the window, no matter how dim the source. I’m certain that if I took it to a prison cell with nothing but a single little window high above, it would lift its face toward that one shaft of light. It could not be stopped. It could not be discouraged. It could not be dissuaded.
And neither should we ever be dissuaded from turning toward the Lord in every circumstance. Our eyes may be weary and full of tears, the light may seem distant and dim, but the Lord is present, close to the broken-hearted and eager to save those who are crushed in spirit. It falls to us to simply turn and to look toward the light that streams from his presence and illumines us with his grace.

For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond. If I turned the pot so the flower was facing the room, within a day or two it would have turned to face the light. And if I rotated it again, the flower would respond in the same way, turning itself toward the light streaming in from the window. I could not fool it. I could not discourage it or persuade it to give up.
You cannot read about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ without noticing his love for the natural world. Many of his most vivid illustrations are drawn from nature—the birds, the plants, the trees, the winds. You often observe him making use of the natural elements that were right before him to help his listeners understand his teaching—the fig tree that failed to bear fruit, the fields that were white for harvest, the birds that were unconcerned about their next meal.
And in that vein, I learned a lesson from that little flower—the lesson of the potted plant. No matter how I turned the plant, it dutifully responded by realigning itself to face the light. No matter how many times I turned it and no matter how completely I turned it, it responded in the same way.
From the plant, I learned that life’s circumstances often turn us into times of darkness, times when we are overcome by pain, sorrow, or other trials. For a time the world around us may look dark and foreboding, like the Valley of the Shadow of Death is closing in around us and threatening to swallow us up. Yet our duty in such times is to look for the light and to turn toward it.
God never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward.Share
And there always will be a source of light, for our God never deserts or abandons us. He never leaves us without some truth to believe in, some promise to cling to, some hope to long for, some light to turn toward. For God does not just have light or display light—he is light.
I’m certain that if I had taken my little potted plant to a dimly lit room in a hospital, it would still have turned toward whatever light came from the window, no matter how dim the source. I’m certain that if I took it to a prison cell with nothing but a single little window high above, it would lift its face toward that one shaft of light. It could not be stopped. It could not be discouraged. It could not be dissuaded.
And neither should we ever be dissuaded from turning toward the Lord in every circumstance. Our eyes may be weary and full of tears, the light may seem distant and dim, but the Lord is present, close to the broken-hearted and eager to save those who are crushed in spirit. It falls to us to simply turn and to look toward the light that streams from his presence and illumines us with his grace.

Here is another Sunday devotional—a brief thought to orient your heart toward the Lord.
God takes the initiative in establishing relationship by reaching out to helpless humanity. He reveals himself to the creatures he has made. But what does it mean for him to provide such revelation of himself?
John Calvin began his Institutes by saying, “Nearly all the wisdom which we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” This is exactly the knowledge God provides us. He takes us into his confidence to share what would otherwise remain hidden from our understanding. He enlightens our minds to know and our hearts to receive the truth about himself and the truth about ourselves, for these are the keys to any true wisdom. God provides such revelation not because we deserve it or are in any way owed it, but only because he is gracious, because he delights to give us those things we do not deserve.
Because of his grace, we have access to information that would otherwise remain hidden, information we need if we are to be saved from our sin. Praise God for revealing himself to us!

Here is another Sunday devotional—a brief thought to orient your heart toward the Lord.
God takes the initiative in establishing relationship by reaching out to helpless humanity. He reveals himself to the creatures he has made. But what does it mean for him to provide such revelation of himself?
John Calvin began his Institutes by saying, “Nearly all the wisdom which we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” This is exactly the knowledge God provides us. He takes us into his confidence to share what would otherwise remain hidden from our understanding. He enlightens our minds to know and our hearts to receive the truth about himself and the truth about ourselves, for these are the keys to any true wisdom. God provides such revelation not because we deserve it or are in any way owed it, but only because he is gracious, because he delights to give us those things we do not deserve.
Because of his grace, we have access to information that would otherwise remain hidden, information we need if we are to be saved from our sin. Praise God for revealing himself to us!

My thanks goes to Church Social for sponsoring the blog this week. Church Social keeps churches connected by giving congregations a safe place to communicate, share information, and manage membership online. It is software I can gladly recommend since we use it at my church.
Logos users, March Matchups has come down to its penultimate round, so remember to vote once again.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few more interesting books.
(Yesterday on the blog: Ask Pastor John)

The Ides of March provides an opportunity to consider the death of Julius Caesar and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“Technology is no mere neutral tool. Indeed, nothing is simply neutral. Every form of technology has latent danger, some much greater than others. And tools like ChatGPT, while they do have a specific role and shouldn’t be universally avoided, they should be very carefully employed for their specific end, if at all.”

Of course technology also allows us to do and see some wonderful things.

I enjoyed this little biographical sketch by Christina Stanton. “At age 14, One Mokgatle lost his father—the rock of his family—to heart failure. Young One wasn’t a Christian, and his father’s death drew him even further away from any desire to explore Christianity or any faith system. ‘I couldn’t understand why God would allow this to happen,’ One recalls. But through God’s saving grace, One would soon begin a journey that would lead to pastoring a church plant, and then ultimately leading the Acts 29 movement all over Africa.”

Abigail tells what she learned from a couple of raw vegans.

Indeed, it does, as Randy Alcorn explains here.

Parents do well to be patient with their children, and not to be overly concerned with those who seem to be blooming slowly.

True joy is only attained when our hearts beat with God’s desires, when we love His will more than our own, and when His desires fuel our desires.
—Kimberly Wagner

I admit it: I felt a little skeptical about Ask Pastor John. To be fair, I feel skeptical about most books that begin in one medium before making the leap to another. Books based on sermons, for example, can often be pretty disappointing—a powerful sermon at a conference can make a bland chapter in a book. Yet once I got into this book, once I saw what it is and isn’t, and once I began to actually read it, my skepticism quickly subsided.

Ask Pastor John

Perhaps the most important thing to note about Ask Pastor John is that the author is not John Piper. Rather, it’s Tony Reinke. It’s Reinke’s name that is written in big characters on the front cover. Piper is mentioned only as the author of the foreword. Yet the content is clearly Piper’s. So what gives?
Back in 2013 Reinke, an employee of Desiring God, proposed a new podcast called Ask Pastor John. The format would be simple—Piper would answer questions posed to him in advance. Rather than offering off-the-cuff answers as he might during a conference Q&A, Piper would spend time in preparation, giving his responses more depth and weight. What was supposed to last for just under 400 episodes has now reached into the thousands. The episodes have been listened to hundreds of millions of times and, by Piper’s own testimony, is the most common feedback he hears from people who interact with him—they tell how much they have been shaped and blessed by it.
Yet not everyone is going to listen to hundreds of hours of podcasts (or would even want to). The book, then, is a kind of “narrative synthesis” of 750 of the most popular episodes, the majority of which deal with situational ethics. Reinke says it “is a core sample of John Piper’s mind and theology” that is meant to serve four purposes: To map the ground they’ve already covered so as to avoid repetition; to topically curate the episodes already created; to celebrate Piper’s investment in the podcast; and to acquaint readers with the scope and depth of the podcast archive. “Basically, my prayer is that by making dozens of the major podcast themes browsable in print, this book will make the archive more useful to you at the very moment you need it. This book doesn’t have an index; it is the index, an index to serve you as you serve others.”
While there is a sense in which the book is meant to prompt readers to become listeners, there is another sense in which it offers plenty of its own value. What Reinke has done is arrange episodes under topical headings. Then he has combined the content of related episodes and condensed it into a short and readable Q&A format. It’s essentially the heart of Piper’s thoughts on hundreds of big questions. Some of the sections include:

On Bible Reading, Bible Neglect, and Bible Memory
On Politics, Patriotism, and Culture Wars
On Cussing, Lying, and Gossip
On Married Sex, Bedroom Taboos, and Fading Attraction
On Satan, Demons, and the Unforgivable Sin
On Deadness, Depression, and Desertion

And that is just a sampling. Within each of these sections, readers may find 30 or 40 different headings, some of which are answers to questions and some of which are matters of practical wisdom. For those who wish to hear fuller answers or to hear the pastoral tone in which they are delivered, everything is carefully footnoted to the appropriate podcast episodes. You can simply punch the episode number into the search box at Desiring God and listen in.
I don’t really listen to podcasts and don’t plan to start now. Yet I enjoyed Ask Pastor John a lot. I enjoyed gaining brief answers to a multitude of questions and enjoyed seeing how Piper brings the truths of Scripture to bear on practical matters. I enjoyed disagreeing with him on a few matters, but such disagreements help sharpen my own thinking. The book is a fascinating and helpful archive, whether taken with or without reference to the podcast that was its origin. I expect you’ll enjoy it every bit as much as I have.

The God of love and peace be with you today.
Over at Christianbook.com you’ll find a Bible clearance sale with lots of good deals on ESVs and other translations. Meanwhile, at 10ofThose you’ll find great deals on case quantities of the kind of resources you’d want to distribute widely. Then at Westminster Books you’ll find deals on a church history series for teens as well as the new Ask Pastor John. And, of course, at Amazon the Kindle deals continue as well.

That’s a good question with a solid answer behind it. “We know that we serve a master who gave up everything for us, and we can easily feel that nothing we do is ever enough to please him in return. Deep down we think that he is hard to please. We try to justify ourselves to him by repaying him for his grace. The very fact that the Lord instituted the Sabbath as a principle ought to be a reminder to us that he does not demand that we work all the hours he sends.”

Tanner Swanson offers comfort to those passing through the valley of miscarriage.

“I often see in my own heart a sense of entitlement to an easy and comfortable life; and when hard times come, I can so quickly start to resent God. Why is this? It is caused by wrong expectations.”

“‘It needs an update,’ my husband says. He wasn’t talking about me, which is a good thing. For us both. Phones, computers, thermostats, security systems, clocks, TV’s, GPS systems. I mean really? Have you noticed how many things need updating? ‘They aren’t talking,’ he sighs, with a kind of long extended tire-flattening sound.”

In case you haven’t heard, Ligonier is now offering a brief daily audio devotional from Sinclair Ferguson (“Things Unseen”). You can listen to them all at YouTube and elsewhere.

“While I would commend making a habit of listening to sermons, I want to highlight one downside of listening to online preaching.” This is probably worth thinking about.

We speak to God through praise and prayer and God speaks to us through Scripture and Spirit. It’s a wondrous and beautiful privilege we enjoy.

If heaven is ready for Christ’s redeemed people—then surely they should be making ready for heaven.
—Theodore Cuyler