Good morning. May the Lord bless you and keep you today.

Grace Fellowship Church is now accepting applications for our Winter 2022 Pastoral Internship. This is a 12-week, full-time intensive program that runs from February to May. Please apply if you meet the criteria!
On sale this week at Westminster Books is Paul Tripp’s new book on doctrine.
Today’s Kindle deals include a list of titles from Crossway. The theme seems to be relationships.
In Our Rejection of the Prosperity Gospel, Are We Missing God’s Provision?
Jared Wilson wonders whether, in our fervor to condemn the prosperity gospel, we’ve perhaps gone just a bit too far and condemned God’s provision.
Ottomans and Incarnation
Here’s a neat account about taking one of those opportunities God provides.
Sound Doctrine: The Foundation for Faithful Ministry
There’s a new issue of the 9Marks Journal read for reading via download or in your browser. This issue deals with sound doctrine.
The Voices Behind Us
Andrea says “we all have voices behind us – their hot breath of condemnation against our necks. Many times we hear our own words joining theirs, bearing down on us in the night.”
The Destroyer of All Darkness
“Jesus came into this dark and fallen world as the new creation and to bring about a re-creation of all those for whom He died. He is ‘the Destroyer of the darkness,’” says Nick Batzig.
Church is Back, But Where Are The People?
“In a day when we can personalize and customize all our interactions, at least those of a digital nature, the church forces us into relationships that don’t fit social media algorithms. The church, the embodied gathering, doesn’t reconfigure to our likes and shares and news preferences. We need this kind of community or we may end up lost down some worm hole on the Internet.”
Flashback: 3 Parenting Myths We Are All Tempted To Believe
As Christian parents raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, we can be tempted to believe some dangerous myths about what we are doing and how we are to go about it.

That place and position is most healthful for us in which we are kept most humble—most taught our own sinfulness, drawn most to the Bible and prayer, led most to live by faith and not by sight. —J.C. Ryle

Good morning. Grace and peace to you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: A Prayer for My Parent Heart)
Start Giving Before You Inherit
“Millennials may inherit over $68 trillion from previous generations by 2030. According to Newsweek, some experts believe this ‘could be the largest transfer of wealth in the history of humankind.’ What will younger generations do with that wealth?” Randy Alcorn has a proposal for you to consider.
Biblical Hope When It’s Time to Consider Residential Care
“No one dreams about putting their loved one in a home. We all hold out hope that we will be able to manage when age and disease come calling. That’s a beautiful hope, worthy of clinging to. I’m not here to pop that bubble, but the fact is, seventy percent of us over age sixty-five will need long term care at some point, not to mention extended hospital stays, rehabilitation, or psychiatric treatment.”
3 Core Beliefs of the Transgender Movement
Samuel Ferguson explains three core beliefs of the transgender movement (and why they do not accord with what the Bible teaches). He also expresses some concerns about transitioning.
Bright on the Outside, Dark on the Inside: Why Salvation Is a Matter of the Heart
Pierce Taylor Hibbs: “When it comes to spiritual matters, what you see is seldom what you get. Appearances aren’t just deceiving; they can be damning. History is rife with examples of hypocrisy: those who claim to be full of light but who are, in fact, dark as dungeons. A recent example reminded me just how important it is to maintain that the inside is what matters most. Salvation is a matter of the heart, not a battle for the head. And I’ll explain why.”
Partnering Together to Plant
“Cooperation is built on a theological foundation. Pastors, we are brothers! This theological truth shows up in basically every New Testament epistle. And part of what the New Testament calls us to is cooperation in the mission that God has given to his church.” Nate Akin encourages churches to be willing and eager to cooperate in planting new churches.
Even Heretics Know Hebrew: How to Interpret the Bible in Partisan Times
I have been enjoying these longform articles from Desiring God. In this one Kevin Vanhoozer describes a hermeneutics of boldness and humility.
Flashback: There Are Different Kinds of Tired
A day spent purposefully, a day spent in bringing glory to God by doing good to others—this is a day that will bring pleasure, even as it brings fatigue, this is a day that will bring joy, even as it brings weariness.

God takes everyone he loves through a desert. It is his cure for our wandering hearts, restlessly searching for a new Eden. —Paul Miller

Good morning! Blessings to you as you serve the Lord and worship him this weekend.

My gratitude goes to Zondervan for sponsoring the blog this week with news of Michael Horton’s new book Recovering Our Sanity.
There are (finally) a few new Kindle deals to look at.
(Yesterday on the blog: Same Words, Different Worlds)
Seek God’s Face Before You Seek His Hand
Sarah Walton: “The Holy Spirit has been gently opening my eyes to see my recent tendency to allow what I can see and understand to interpret God’s Character, rather than his character to interpret what I can see and understand. Therefore, I’ve been giving the enemy an easy target because it hasn’t take much for a difficult circumstance to make me question God’s faithfulness.”
Broken Hallelujahs
Julie Lowe ponders what it means to offer God a “broken hallelujah.”
When you lose your salvation based on a technicality
Jordan Standridge writes about that priest who had 20 years of baptisms invalidated because he confused a word.
Ten Commandments for Commentary Usage
Peter Krol: “In the interest of helping you make best use of commentaries in your Bible study, here are ten commandments for your consideration.”
Providence Showing Off
Sometimes providence shows off.
Fasting With Jesus
“Fasting is a bit of an oddity, isn’t it? Sure it is commanded, expected, and demonstrated in Scripture (Matt 9:15, Joel 2:12, and Acts 13:2-3, among many others), but why exactly are we to engage in this practice? After all, we can’t somehow coerce God by abstaining from food. And we don’t need something additional than praying in Christ and by faith (John 14:14). So what is the point of not eating while seeking the Lord in prayer? And is this a discipline we ought to be cultivating?”
Flashback: For You It’s Sin, For Me It’s Service
When you do it it’s proud grumbling; when I do it it’s humble service. That’s the difference between you and me. And that’s why I find your complaining so offensive. Yeah, that must be it.

The man who exposes himself to hear new truths oftentimes comes back with old errors newly dressed. —Obadiah Sedgwick