Grace and peace to you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include some interesting titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: The World Next Door)
The Abolitionist Hero You’ve Never Heard Of
You will enjoy reading this introduction to a man you may not know. Or if you do, for something other than his abolitionism.
The Age of Ingratitude
Carl Trueman calls this the age of ingratitude. “In the times of turmoil in which we live, various candidates suggest themselves as ways of capturing the essence of our epoch: the age of anxiety, the age of identity politics, the age of polarization. All touch on some obvious aspect of our current struggles. But perhaps a better title might be the age of ingratitude.”
Church History
Simonetta Carr’s Church History provides a thrilling overview of God’s work in His people. Readers young and old will learn from this beautifully illustrated story of our Christian heritage. Check out Free Stuff Fridays this week for a chance to win a free copy of Church History! (Sponsored Link)
From Griping to Gratitude
Speaking of ingratitude, “a grateful heart is always satisfied.”
Some jobs are never done
“Some jobs just never seem done.” This is so very true.
What Is the Difference between God’s Discipline and God’s Punishment?
“There are things God will never do with our sin—one of which is that he will never repay us. He will never count it against us.” And that is so good to know and to remember.
Flashback: Keep a Close Watch on Yourself!
The sin was so unnecessary, so avoidable. But it became possible, it became inevitable, when they failed to keep a close watch on their behavior, on their life, on themselves.

Genuine salvation consists not of giving glowing testimonies but in departing from evil, not in relating glorious experiences with God but in living a consistent life. —Dale Ralph Davis

It can be difficult to know how to tell others about our Christian convictions. It can be difficult to know the best way to tell others about what we believe and why we believe it. And while I am sure this has always been the case, there are new challenges that come with the seismic shifts we’ve seen in Western culture over the past decade or two—shifts that have carried us into what is increasingly obviously a post-Christian West in which our religious convictions are now a social liability far more than an asset.

I am often asked for recommendations on books that someone can hand to an unbeliever, a skeptic, or a religious wanderer—books that may help persuade them to come to the Christian faith. I generally recommend Keller’s The Reason for God because of the way he engages intellectually with the modern mind, but now I’m glad to also be able to recommend a newer option: Rory Shiner and Peter Orr’s The World Next Door: A Short Guide to the Christian Faith. This book, they say, “is our best shot at commending the Christian message to our friends. It’s driven by the universal human instinct to increase the joy of finding a good thing by sharing it with others. We both think we’ve found a good thing—the best thing—in finding God through Jesus. We want to share it.”
Shiner is a pastor in Perth, Australia while Orr is a Northern Irish professor who now teaches New Testament in Sydney. Shiner was raised in a Christian home while Peter was not. Yet both have come to the Christian faith and both are now eager to share it with their friends and family members. This book is their best attempt to do so.
They take an interesting angle on an evangelistic work by framing it around the Apostle’s Creed, the most widely accepted summary of Christian truth. This creed “is associated with baptism and the entry of new converts into the faith. We figure the creed will keep us on the straight and narrow, tethering us to an account of the faith that is briskly orthodox and historically grounded…” The creed also allows them to do more than talk about the Christian faith—it forces them to share exactly what its primary claims are. It forces them to deal immediately and unashamedly with matters Christians may shy away from as they talk to unbelievers—God as Creator, Jesus born of a virgin, the triunity of God, and so on.
Where they begin, though, is with demons. Yes, demons. They begin by telling of Jesus’ confrontation with a demon-possessed man, explaining how it opens up an understanding of the unseen world—the world the biblical writers described as existing above and below us. Why would they begin here? “Francis Schaeffer, a Christian thinker from the mid-20th century, apparently used to give his first talk on angels when addressing university students. When asked why, he explained that when he spoke about God and sin, people heard him to be speaking about morality. But when he spoke about angels, people understood he was speaking about spiritual truths. About a bigger reality, about transcendent truths. That’s what we want to talk about, too.”
This is clever, I think, because it immediately confronts the reader with the reality that the Christian faith is not merely a way to live or a system of morality, but something far bigger, far broader, far more all-encompassing. “The Christian faith is less like an object in the world, whose existence is accepted by some and denied by others, and more like a pair of glasses through which you look at the rest of life, the universe, and everything.”
And so they lead the reader through the Creed, phrase by phrase. They discuss the being and nature of God and tell of his creative power; they introduce Jesus as God and man, as incarnated and virgin-born, as crucified and buried, as resurrected, reigning, and returning; they tell of the Holy Spirit and his ongoing work in this world. In other words, they lead the reader through the most essential claims of Christianity.
While I am obviously not a skeptic of the faith, and while I have not yet had opportunity to hand this book to one, I do believe its approach is helpful and will prove effective. I admire the authors for not running away from even the most offensive of Christianity’s claims and from its most difficult doctrines. I admire them for wanting to share their own enthusiasm for the God who has met them and saved them. And I admire them for remaining engaging and winsome all the while. “Christianity’s explanatory power, bracing beauty, and sheer otherness are some of the best things about it. It ends up making our modern, secular, materialistic Western view of life look a bit, well, dull. There are all sorts of good reasons to become a Christian, some of them very serious. But one of the more surprising reasons is that being a Christian is actually really interesting and, in its own way, fun.” I couldn’t agree more and it’s my hope that many people read The World Next Door and come to embrace the faith it describes.

Buy from Amazon

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

There’s a nice little list of Kindle deals for you to look at today.
All Things Great and Small
“A hurricane reveals just a little bit of the greatness of God. The Bible reveals much, much more of His greatness. Yet, there is much that we cannot understand.”
Family Devotions: The Launchpad for Spiritual Leadership in the Home
This article has lots of advice on beginning and maintaining family devotions.
Church History
Simonetta Carr’s Church History provides a thrilling overview of God’s work in His people. Readers young and old will learn from this beautifully illustrated story of our Christian heritage. Check out Free Stuff Fridays this week for a chance to win a free copy of Church History! (Sponsored Link)
How Do I Know If I Really Love God? (Video)
This video is a good answer to the question.
Love Is A Skill
“We seem to agree that love is fundamental to what it means to live well as a human. It’s part of who we are, built in to the human heart. Which is exactly right: love is the image of God shining out, crying out to the world around us that the something or someone we love is worthy of valuing and treasuring. In that sense, love is natural. It is one of the deepest realities of who we are, of who God made us to be.”
A Call for Endurance and Faith
“When the world’s system is drawing its net around Christians, using policies or other regulations to force us out of our employment or shut down our businesses if we do not comply, realize it is appointed for some of us to be fired. And when we are threatened with mistreatment, we are to stand firm in the faith. We must also stand in solidarity when other imperfect Christians are condemned, not point fingers.”
Flashback: Life Is Fleeting
Scarcely do we draw our first breath before we draw our last. Scarcely do we open our eyes before we close them once more. Scarcely do we live before we die.

Let us not fear modern criticism; it cannot rob us of one jot or tittle of God’s truth. Scripture will shake it off, as the Apostle did the viper which fastened on his hand, and felt no hurt. —F.B. Meyer

I’m finishing up a conference in Fiji today (which I guess is tomorrow if you’re in North America—the International Date Line is endlessly confusing). It has been a tremendous blessing to get to know the believers here and to see how the Lord is at work in these little islands. I’m so thankful for the faithful legacy of The College of Theology & Evangelism Fiji.

Westminster Books has a deal on a new book that seems to be getting lots of attention.
(Yesterday on the blog: My System for Remembering and Re-Encountering What I Read)
As Long As You Know You’re Nobody Very Special
Darryl wants you to know that you’re nobody very special (and that admitting this is very freeing).
The Finished Work of Christ
David explains why “the finished work of Christ” is one of his favorite phrases.
As Slow As It Takes
”When we came to the field we thought that we were already on the slow track when it came to leadership development. Many popular missions methodologies advocate handing over significant authority to new believers very quickly, within a matter of weeks or months. Some even have unbelievers facilitating and leading Bible studies.” But here’s what that’s often not a wise idea.
Sing We The Song of Emmanuel (Video)
Getty Music has a new lyric video for the Christmas hymn “Sing We the Song of Emmanuel.”
How to Disagree Theologically
This is a good example of holding strong convictions with gentle charity.
Unborn Images Matter
“Abortionist Dr. Joan Fleischman says she sometimes shows her patients the pregnancy tissue she removes after an abortion. She says that post-abortive women are ‘stunned by what it actually looks like,’ and the women ‘feel they’ve been deceived.’” STR tells who is actually being deceptive.
Flashback: Fears and Fleeting Faith
In their troubles they fled to Jesus. In their uncertainty they cried out to their master. But they came to him in fear and doubt, not in faith.

The Bible is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking. —A.W. Tozer

A friend recently asked if I could help him figure out what to do with all the quotes and highlights he has collected over the years. As a pastor and author he reads a lot and as he reads he highlights and underlines passages while sometimes jotting down notes in the margins. Yet he’s not sure what to do with these highlights, how to remember them, and how to make them useful. For his sake I wrote out the system I use and thought I’d share it here. While I’ll freely admit it’s a bit geeky, it has served me very well for quite a long time now.

Two Components
This system has two components.

The first component collects my highlights, stores them, and regularly brings them to my attention. This helps me with retention (as I read the highlights that have been resurfaced), with creativity (as I search for and find highlights) and with inspiration (as I serendipitously encounter those highlights on a regular basis).
The second component also stores my highlights but additionally allows me to powerfully search them and to explore complex relationships between them.

The first component depends upon a service called ReadWise and the second upon Roam Research.
Many people will not need both, but will find ReadWise sufficient for their purposes. For that reason, I will begin there.
ReadWise
According to ReadWise, the service “makes it easy to revisit and learn from your ebook & article highlights.” It also makes it easy to learn from your printed book and other highlights. It collects those highlights and then routinely prompts you to review them.
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Begin by visiting ReadWise and creating an account. You’ll qualify for a free 30-day trial to try it out. You should not need to add your credit card details until after that time, should you choose to keep using it.
Once you have created your account, your first task will be getting some of your stuff into their system. After registering for an account it should immediately take you to the Import Highlights page. If it doesn’t, go to the “Connect & Sync” tab at the top of the screen and choose “Import Highlights.” You will see a long list of different ways to get content into ReadWise, and they are broken into two main categories: “Connect & Sync” and “Import & Upload.”

The options listed under “Connect & Sync” are automated ways of getting content into the system (e.g. as you create highlights on your Kindle or as you create highlights in articles you have saved to Pocket, they are automatically imported into ReadWise).
The options listed under “Import & Upload” are manual ways of getting content into the system (e.g. after reading a paperback edition of a book, you manually type your notes and highlights into ReadWise).
Note: some of the automated options require you to do the setup procedure using Chrome for your browser rather than Safari or others.

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Let’s get some content into ReadWise.
If you read via a Kindle device, tap on the Kindle option. You will be prompted to install a browser extension, then to login to your Amazon account using your Amazon credentials. ReadWise will take a few minutes to go through your books, then tell you that it has sent you your first newsletter. In theory, you should now have an email in your inbox that contains 5 random highlights from your Kindle books. This is what ReadWise refers to as your “Daily Review.” From this point forward, ReadWise will continue to automatically import your Kindle highlights on a daily basis and send you a Daily Review email.
If you do not read via a Kindle device, you will need to import highlights another way. What I would suggest is beginning with “Freeform Input” which you’ll find under “Import & Upload.” You will be prompted to create a new book by adding a title and author. After you do that, you’ll be prompted to add a new highlight from that book and, optionally, to include a page number and your own notes. So simply type in a bunch of highlights from that book, one after another—at least 6 or 8 to start. You can repeat this for as many highlights as you would like to include. When you are done, click on the “ReadWise” header to get back to the “Import Highlights” page. It will prompt you to add some Supplemental Books. This is a way of importing the most popular highlights from various books. ReadWise will want you to select at least three. When you hit “continue” it will tell you that it has sent you your first newsletter. In theory, you should now have an email in your inbox that contains 5 random highlights from the books you imported. This is what ReadWise refers to as your “Daily Review.” It will be sent to you each day.
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Okay, so that has gotten ReadWise configured in the most basic way. What I would suggest now is continuing to add highlights to it since its power will grow with the volume of information you add to it. You’ll need to decide whether you want it to contain highlights from books alone or also highlights from articles and/or podcasts and/or Twitter. Additionally, you’ll need to decide whether you want to keep those Supplemental Books that you may have added before (which is to say, whether you want other people’s highlights in your system or only your own—I initially suggest not using Supplemental Books which means you’ll need to erase any you added earlier). Here are some ideas to try:

Download the ReadWise app to your phone and try its scanning feature on a book you have read in a physical format. It should be able to scan those highlights directly into ReadWise.
If you have only imported Kindle highlights, try importing some manual highlights from a book you have read in a physical format. Do this through the Freeform Input button or, as in the last bullet, through the app’s scanning functionality.
If you have highlights in PDF documents, use the PDF button to upload them and extract the highlights. (It would be good to read the help document to understand the limitations on this method.)
If you use Logos, try exporting your notes into a format that can be imported into ReadWise. (It used to be straightforward to export Logos notes into a CSV file, but this appears to have been removed in version 10.0. You could perhaps try exporting it into an RTF file and then converting that to a CSV or copying and pasting them into a spreadsheet. Alternatively, you can do it via the methods in either of the first two bullets. Also, upvote this feature request.)

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For what it’s worth, I only use ReadWise to import highlights from books I have read. I don’t care to know what other people deem important in books and don’t use the service to save highlights from articles and other media.
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If you are going to use only ReadWise, you may want to consider adding tags to all or some of your highlights. This will add some taxonomy to them and help you navigate between them (so, for example, you can pull up a list of all of the highlights tagged “prayer” or “marriage”). Tags will be especially important if they are for words that don’t actually appear in the quote but still represent its content (such as a quote about marriage that doesn’t actually contain the word “marriage.”). If you plan to also use Roam Research, this step may be redundant.
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If you are going to import lots of notes from physical books, it may be best to add them into a CSV file and then import that file. This could prove a better method than adding them through Freeform Input. So play with the options to see which suits you best. You can find sample CSV files here.
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After you have added a fair bit of content, try searching using the search icon at the top of the page. This will search all of your highlights for whatever keyword you type. You’ll notice the search is helpfully “fuzzy” so that, for example, a search for “duty” will also turn up results for “duties” and “dutiful.”
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You may want to tweak your Daily Review. To do that, click on the Account icon in the top right and select “Configure Reviews.” Here you can choose how many highlights you receive per day and tweak a few other settings. Frequency Tuning is especially important as it allows you to set how often different books will show up in your highlights—from very often to not at all. You’ll want to adjust these settings to suit your purposes, and especially to turn off books that you have read but don’t care to remember or encounter again.
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Adding highlights manually is simple and effective—but the system is at its absolute best with Kindle highlights, since they get added automatically and in the background. The deeper you get into this system, the more you may find yourself wanting to read via Kindle simply to gain that functionality.
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You can try the Mastery function to see if it appeals. It is meant to help you with retention by using the spaced repetition technique.
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ReadWise seems to be a stable app but, like every other service, there is always the risk that it will shut down some day. Thankfully they make it very easy to export your data, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about losing it permanently.
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Before we move on, let’s consider what you’ve accomplished so far and what benefits you’ve gained.

You now have an electronic home for all your highlights.
You now have a way to search across all of your highlights.
You will now have a selection of highlights sent to you each day to help you with retention and creativity.
You may have highlights being regularly and automatically fed into your system (e.g. if you synced with your Kindle).

Roam Research
The second component of my system is Roam Research which is described as “a note-taking tool for networked thought.” It is essentially a tool for personal knowledge management that allows you to enter, organize, and then re-discover information. In that way it is kind of like a “second brain.” It uses a non-hierarchical method of relating notes to one another in which its “bi-directional links” create relationships between related pieces of knowledge. It’s kind of hard to describe, but once you see it and understand it, you can’t help but be impressed by it.
If ReadWise is the tool that imports highlights, stores them, and regularly resurfaces them, Roam is the tool that stores them, allows you to relate them to one another, and to work with them. There is some duplication between the two services, but each still has its own distinct purpose in my system. The two play very nicely together because ReadWise can automatically export all of its highlights to Roam Research.
You may want to try Roam Research if:

you want to do more than just store and remember highlights, but also to work with them and integrate them into articles, books, and sermons.
you want to also be able to search across your own writing—articles, books, sermons, and notes.
you want to be able to look for complex relationships between ideas you have imported into Roam Research or added manually.

If that sounds interesting, then read on.
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Visit Roam Research and click “Sign Up.” You will be prompted to either create a new account or to login with your existing Google account. You will need to enter your payment information, but will not be charged until after a 31-day trial period. Set a reminder on your calendar to cancel in 30 days, just in case. (“Hey Siri, remind me in 30 days at 9 AM to cancel Roam Research.”)
You will begin at a Daily Notes page. This is a place for you to make, well, daily notes. But where I would begin is with importing your ReadWise highlights. Go back to ReadWise and to “Connect & Sync,” but this time to the “Export Highlights” option. You will see many options for getting your information out of ReadWise and into other applications. Click on the Roam button. You’ll need to use either Chrome or Firefox for this and add the ReadWise browser extension. Simply follow the process and, soon enough, you should see all of your highlights appear in Roam Research. It may take a few minutes, so be patient.
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Now you will want to “tag” your highlights by one of the two methods Roam provides. Select a book in Roam Research and scroll through the highlights. Find a word you’d consider especially important. Double click on it and tap the left bracket key ([) twice; you will now see something like this: [[marriage]]. This has turned that word into a link. If one of your highlights has an idea but not doesn’t contain the specific word (e.g. a quote about marriage that doesn’t contain the word “marriage”), click at the end of the highlight and type the number sign followed by the word in this format: #marriage. This creates the very same kind of link but using a different marriage. Try to create links like that for as many of your highlights as possible. Now when you click on the word “marriage” it will take you to a page that contains all of the links that contain the word.
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You can also highlight particularly interesting highlights. To do that, select the text and tap cmd+h (Mac) or ctrl+h (Windows). This is useful as you skim through your content later on as it makes key information stand out.
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Once you are on one of the pages for your keywords, scroll to the bottom and look for the words “Unlinked References.” Click the little triangle beside it. This will now show you all of the highlights in which that word appears but has not yet been tagged. You can tap the “Link” button to automatically tag them. This is a great way of finding references to what word that you would have otherwise missed.
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You can always click the question mark icon at the top right of the page to see help menus. Visit this tutorial page to get a little deeper into the system. You will also benefit from searching for tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere. There are tons of good resources for using Roam. It is much like Logos in that even if you only learn some of the basic functions and never become a true power user, it may still make a huge difference in your life.
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Roam, like ReadWise, works best when you commit to it and use it over the long-term. A half commitment will get half results. It is not for everyone, but if you are interested, make sure you at least give it a good go. That means continuing to import highlights through ReadWise while also adding content directly into Roam. You can conduct your research in Roam as well, actually using it as your writing app.
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Now, when you are doing research and want to pull up information about a subject, go to Roam and use the search button at the top. Type your keyword. Then begin to explore those bi-directional links to see where they take you. On any page, go to the … icon at the top and select Open Graph View to see where your keyword is used and what other concepts it relates to. Continue to explore the software and learn how powerful it is.
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If you don’t want to pay for Roam, you can take a look at Obsidian which is very similar, except that it is free in its basic form and resides on your local computer rather than on someone else’s server.
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And that’s that. I’d suggest you commit to the system for a few days or a few weeks and see if it can serve you. I have been using it for years and benefiting from it tremendously. I look forward to receiving my Daily Review every morning and always keep a Roam tab open so I can add information or search it at any time. So give it a shot and let me know how it works for you…

Blessings to you on this fine day.

Today’s Kindle deals include a couple of interesting titles.
You Don’t Have to Choose a Word for the Year
“For many, choosing a word for the year replaces a list of resolutions. That one word gives them focus for the year. Christians who do this usually pray about it leading up to the new year and feel this word has been given to them or impressed on them by God. They often plan activities, reading, or Bible study around their word.” That may be a perfectly fine idea, but don’t think it’s a necessary one!
What Does it Take to End Well?
This article (sermon? conference talk?) is about reverse-engineering the lives of those who finished well to try to determine what made them successful.
Sexual Abuse and Outpacing the Church
Is it possible that when it comes to identifying and protecting against abuse, the church is lagging behind the world?
The Scriptures are reliable down to the tenses
The Scriptures are reliable in every way and that puts us under the responsibility to read them well and carefully.
Driven by Awe: Missions
“If we are not driven by awe of God in our life, then our desire to share his greatness with others will diminish. As one author stated: ‘Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak.’ As we regularly feast upon the glory of God, as we behold his beauty each day of our lives, then inevitably we will want others to do the same. As we encounter the most beautiful, powerful, merciful being in all of existence, we’ll want others to likewise taste and see that he is good.”
How to Get Married
Here is some counsel—much of it in the realm of advice more than biblical mandates—on getting married.
Flashback: A Tribute to Those of Simple Faith
People of complex faith are prone to see apathy in those of simple faith, and people of simple faith are prone to see obsessiveness in those of complex faith. Both can grow weary and suspicious of the other.

One of the greatest and most undervalued privileges of being brought up in a Christian home is that you will have been prayed for every day of your life. —Christopher Ash

This week the blog is sponsored by 20schemes and this post is written by Mez McConnell, 20schemes’ Executive Director. Mez reflects on the past, present and looks to the future of this ministry to reach Scotland’s poorest communities with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

PAST PROVISION
20schemes is the joint ministry of two local churches, Niddrie Community Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, & Redeemer Fellowship Church, Bardstown, USA. It is often mistaken as a para-church organisation when, in reality, it is the church planting and revitalisation ministry of both churches.
I first had the vision for what is now 20schemes in 2009 when I came across a newspaper article concerning the fifty poorest housing schemes in Scotland. I read the article and began thinking about the impact a gospel church would have in each of those communities.
20schemes was officially launched in November 2012 in the kitchen of the Niddrie Community Church manse by Sharon Dickens, Matthew Spandler-Davison & myself. We had less than £500 in the bank and a dream to reach Scotland’s poorest communities with the gospel of Jesus.
The early years were very tough because nobody had heard of us and those that did thought that we were a passing fad. Many churches across the UK were wary of supporting us and, although we gained some support from faithful Scottish & UK Christians, the majority of our giving came from the USA.
I began to travel around the UK speaking about the vision of the ministry. Many people were sympathetic to the work, but that emotion didn’t translate into hard cash or volunteers. This led us to turn to the USA and this is where Matthew Spandler-Davison stepped in to help us recruit and raise money. Mark Dever and 9marks were massively helpful to us during this time by promoting our ministry and giving me opportunities to speak at some major conferences. Slowly, but surely, we started to gain a little momentum as more Christians rallied to our cause and began to support us financially and prayerfully.
We have been through some lean and trying times and we have skirted the abyss of financial meltdown on more than one occasion. Yet, through it all God has used these times to deepen our faith and dependence upon Him. Here we are 10 years later, still skirting the abyss, but alive and functioning to the glory and praise of His name!
PRESENT SITUATION
Today, on our 10th anniversary, here’s where we stand:
To date, we have either planted or revitalised churches in eleven schemes across Scotland. We have theologically trained men and women who are now engaged in gospel work across Scotland. We have more than a dozen books available in seven languages that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. We have started dedicated Women’s, Music and back-to-work ministries, and it has been a great joy to inspire and support similar ministries in England, Canada, America, and Africa.
Even as I write these words, I find it incredible what God has done over the past decade. He has just been so good to us. There is no way on earth that 20schemes would exist today were it not for our kind and gracious God. Every one of these ministries aforementioned is subservient to the greater vision of planting and revitalising churches among Scotland’s poorest.
There is not a week goes by when we don’t hear of somebody, somewhere being saved in one of our schemes. Of course, we hear bad news in our communities too. Sometimes dark and evil stuff. But, the darkness can never extinguish the light of the world and each church plant is a testament to that great biblical truth.
10 years ago, three people sat in a room in the scheme of Niddrie and prayed. We could not have dreamt that the Lord would bring 20schemes to where it is now, and for that we praise Him.
FUTURE VISION
I am often asked what we will do if and when we hit 20 schemes. My answer is, ‘I will let you know when we get there!’ One thing is for certain, there will never not be a need for gospel churches in Scotland’s poorest communities. Glasgow and its greater area alone, have just short of 100 schemes, the vast majority without the settled Christian witness of a local church. The need for pastors, planters and gospel workers remains as critical as it did when we began this ministry.
We are still looking for men and women of all ages and skillsets to come to the schemes of Scotland and to give their lives to the work of the gospel in these dark and needy places. We need more money, more people, and more prayer. This mission field really is ripe for harvest. Therefore, we must keep pushing forward for the sake of the gospel and the holy name of our God.
One of the ways I encourage all of our planters is by reminding them to look up from their own schemes from time to time and rejoice in what God is doing in schemes across Scotland. People are being saved as the gospel is being preached.
It’s the way it’s always been and it’s the way it will always be. We have no grand strategies other than proclaiming the good news of Jesus to the least, the last and the lost, discipling the saved, and equipping them for future service.
Somebody asked me recently if I thought 20schemes will outlast me. I hope so, otherwise I’ve been doing it wrong. It will last just as long as God wants it to last. It will last as long as faithful men and women refuse to let the apathy of the wider church discourage them from our Scottish mission field.

I recently read an article about the countless billions of dollars that have been saved and stored up outside the mainstream financial system. The author explained that many people have lost their confidence in banks and other institutions and have responded by finding alternative ways to protect their wealth. Some have kept it in the form of cash and hidden great stacks of bills in the walls of their homes or in the backs of their closets. Others have converted it to precious metals and locked it in home safes or buried it in the ground. Others have found still more ways to keep it and protect it.

I blame no one for being suspicious of the financial system and for pursuing alternatives. The purpose of the article was not to criticize these people, but to point out that such wealth is often not doing a great deal of good—it is not being traded, it is not being invested, it is not gaining interest, and if it’s in the form of cash, it’s not even keeping up with inflation. But again, that’s for each individual to decide.
I have little interest in what people do with their wealth, for each of us must do what we believe right with the means God has given us. But I do have a much greater interest in a related matter—what people do with their gifts.
It is clear from Scripture that God bestows upon each of us various gifts. Among them are the spiritual gifts he gives to Christians through which they can bless and serve one another, the gifts that come through our natural talents and inclinations, the gifts that come to us through the circumstances arranged by his providence, and undoubtedly many more. We are responsible for them all—responsible to put them to use for the good of others and the glory of God.
To put them to good use means we need to identify them, to foster them, and to deploy them. And that little article about the way people protect their wealth got me thinking about how many of our gifts and talents we have also “protected” without putting them to use. It forced me to consider how many of God’s gifts we have “buried,” how many we have failed to nurture and develop.
God has given you talents—things you may be unusually good at. Are you using these for his glory?
God has given you spiritual gifts he means for you to use in love and service to other believers. Have you identified the ways in which he may have gifted you?
God has bestowed upon you a greater-than-usual enthusiasm for a certain issue or cause. Are you pursuing it enthusiastically?
God has arranged providence to grant you joys and sorrows and he intends that these work themselves out in ministering to others. Have you accepted them as being from his hand and have you deployed them for his glory?
One of my daily prayers is, “I pray that this day I would use my gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and for your glory.” But I know that praying that I would use the gifts God has granted me is not the same as examining what other gifts God may have given or fostering development in the ones I’m certain he has. But what I do know is that I am responsible for each and every one of them—responsible be a faithful steward of all that God has entrusted to me.

Over the past couple of days I made the very long journey to Fiji where a friend has invited me to minister alongside him at a conference for pastors. Though I’m awfully tired, I’m also glad to be here and thankful for the opportunity. I’d appreciate your prayers that we’d minister faithfully and encourage well.

Today’s Kindle deals include the weekly collection from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: 7 Beautiful Things)
Yelling from the Sidelines
“There are ministers that are in the trenches: preaching, teaching, discipling, counseling, and serving Jesus in the church. And there are those who want to be called ministers, but merely criticize from the sidelines, while always yelling: ‘Reformation! Reformation!’”
Should I Charge Other Christians for My Expertise?
I appreciate John Piper’s handling of this question about whether Christians should allow themselves to be “used” when they have a particularly in-demand skill.
In the End, There Are Yellow Tulips
Madelyn has a lovely piece of writing here. “It was one of the hardest days of my life, but it didn’t offer time to sit and really process the pain I felt and the loss I’d been dealt. There were things to do and people depending on me to do them. I’d put on the dress, the lipstick, and taken an ibuprofen to help ease the headache you get after crying too hard for too long.”
You are the horse: low-bar evangelism strategy
This article grabs a metaphor from show jumping of all places and uses it to discuss evangelism.
Andrew Thorburn is Lawyering Up: I Think That’s the Right Move
Stephen McAlpine tells why he thinks Andrew Thorburn is doing the right thing as he lawyers up and I think I’m inclined to agree. At least, I’m not sure I could say he’s doing the wrong thing. “Essendon’s CEO-for-a-day Andrew Thorburn has engaged with lawyers and is reserving the right to sue the Essendon Football Club.”
How to Glorify God with Professional Accomplishment
“Most Christians are not called to full-time ministry, but each of us is still under the obligation to glorify God in whatever we do. So what do you do when you have personal success in your vocation? How can you glorify God with any professional accomplishment you might have?”
Flashback: Saved By the Quivering Of an Eye-Lid
F.B. Meyer used to tell a story that, while it sounds perhaps just a little far-fetched, makes a great point. He would use it when appealing to unbelievers to repent of their sin and believe the gospel…

In many homes the sorrow over the living is greater far than that for the dead who have passed to sweet rest. —J.R. Miller

As another week drew to a close, I found myself pondering beauty and wanting to reflect on some of the beautiful things I had encountered in the previous 7 days. Here are the ones that came to mind.

1. “Still” by Steven Curtis Chapman. I have been impacted by Steven Curtis Chapman’s music at different points in life, and most recently by his new song “Still.”

You led me high up the mountain to showed me the viewAnd said “Wherever this journey takes youJust trust me, I’m already there”I had no way of knowin’ thenJust how hard the rain would fall and how fierce would be the windIt’s been beautiful and terrible, more painful, more wonderfulThan I ever could have known, but even soStill, I’m gonna singAbout the One who’s given life to me…

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2. This shirt from Westminster Books:

3. Basics Conference. People often ask me what one conference I would most recommend. For pastors, at least, I would almost always say Basics (which is hosted by Alistair Begg at Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, Ohio). It is a great mix of plenary teaching, breakouts, and meals, all at a relatively relaxed pace. They cap attendance so it also has a smaller feel than some of the events that are otherwise similar. Registration has just opened and will almost certainly sell out.
4. Handel’s Messiah. I used to make an annual pilgrimage to Toronto’s Roy Thompson Hall  to take in a performance of Handel’s Messiah. A couple of years ago, during the pandemic, they chose to create and perform a new and updated version that featured transgender soloists, a gay male baritone (who performed in stilettos while standing on a rainbow) and updated lyrics such as “She was a woman of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” It was horrific (and, thankfully, only shown online). Since then I have been gun-shy and haven’t returned. But I do still listen to many of the best performances through Apple Music and watch them through YouTube, especially this time of year. Messiah gets more wondrous and more beautiful with every passing year. 
5. Love. As we passed the second anniversary of Nick’s death, we found the day easier than we may have expected. As we talked about it later we concluded that it may have been because we felt so well-loved. So many people reached out to express their love and care for us and that was a tremendous encouragement to us. I’m so thankful for love—love expressed from family members, friends, and even strangers. It’s a beautiful thing to be loved.
6. iPad Pro. I try to stick with a three-year plan in which I update my phone and iPad (which is all I take when I travel—I don’t use a laptop) every three years. This was my year to swap out my old iPad for a new one. Doing this every three years (which is relatively seldom by today’s standards) means that every new device is a big leap over the last one. And that was true this year. Even after all these years, I’ve never lost the wonder of the power of these devices we tend to take for granted.
7. Fall colors. I know I mentioned this last time, but the colors were particularly beautiful this year and lasted an unusually long time. Or maybe it just chose to notice them this year—we can be like that, can’t we? Along the way Michaela’s photography class had a little contest to see who could take the best fall photo. She snapped a neat little photo that was eventually selected as the winner. Here it is: