Logos users will want to take a look at this month’s free and nearly free books.

Meanwhile, there’s a nice collection Kindle deals to sort through today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Cast Your Burden Upon the Lord)
It can’t be both depending on how we feel
Stephen points out one of the massive contradictions among those who are pro-choice.
New Resolve After 55 Years in My Wheelchair
Joni Eareckson Tada reflects on the anniversary of the Disabilities Act and tells how great a difference it has made in her life.
God’s Plan Was Better Than My Plan
Micheal tells of one of those times when–difficult though it was–God’s plan was better than his own.
How Job Teaches Us to Grieve With Hope
“When deep pain and sorrow come into our lives, we experience a crossroads of sorts. We can either turn away from the Lord—deciding that God is not who he says he is and that he is holding out on us in some way— or we draw closer to God, believing that God’s character is unchanging and is always good”
How Harry Emerson Fosdick’s ‘Open Membership’ Overtook the Northern Baptist Convention
This is a good look at an interesting little piece of church history.
What Your Eyes Have Seen
“The human eye finds no match for its intricacies. High-end cameras still can’t compare to the technology found in this tiny little organ. Photographers who capture gorgeous landscapes must grapple with focus, dynamic range, filters, color consistency, and brightness adjustments to match the scene that lays before them. Our eyes do this all in an instant.”
Flashback: A Picture of Perfect Rest
…the rest God promises and the rest we enjoy comes amid the battle, not outside of it, during the race, not only after we have resigned. It is a rest that comes amid the turmoil, that flows when circumstances are dire, that rises up when hearts sink low.

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

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

May the Lord bless and keep you this weekend.

Today’s Kindle deals include some older works and a newer one.
Are PhD pastors better pastors?
This question was recently asked in a roundtable. While the answers were just fine, Stephen Kneale did offer some further thoughts that I found helpful.
Rejoicing in Suffering
Guy Richard thinks of Paul rejoicing in his suffering and says, “Surely we all find this statement to be a little overwhelming. Some of us may even be intimidated by it. How can Paul say this? How can suffering be something that anyone rejoices in, ever?”
The Wonder and Joy of Advent
Barbaranne Kelly: “Amid all the tumult and strife of our weary world, we long for peace. Bombarded by cynicism and sarcasm we seek for simple, childlike wonder. Drowning in heartache and pain, we hope, however faintly, for joy.”
Where Are All the Heretical Bishops in the Second Century?
You don’t need to know a ton about church history to see the the importance of this question: Where are all the heretical bishops on the second century?
When Christmas Uncovers Difficult Memories
Lara d’Entremont looks at Mary’s prayer and a favorite psalm and asks, “What if this were our prayer this Christmas? I often get caught up in the whys. Why did God allow such a stressful birth? Why did God allow one of our twins to be so small and struggle so much? Why did he allow breastfeeding to be so difficult? Why did he allow my mental health to suffer so much during this?”
Linguistic Violence
Carl Trueman: “Once upon a time it was assumed that words reflected reality. At least, it was assumed that some words did, such as ‘man’ and ‘woman.’ That assumption in turn rested upon the notion that the world had a particular structure and shape. In our present age, both of these ideas are proving unpopular.”
Flashback: 10 Ideas and 10 Tips for Family Devotions in 2019
A new year is just about upon us, and as it dawns, we have a new opportunity to lead our families in devotions. Whether you’ve been utterly consistent or mightily struggling, here are 10 ideas and 10 tips that may help as you consider the year to come.

If God is holy, then he can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then he can’t sin against me. If he can’t sin against me, shouldn’t that make him the most trustworthy being there is? —Jackie Hill Perry