Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

CBD is having a sale with some excellent titles discounted, including: ESV Readers’s Bible (set); Prayer by Tim Keller; Gentle and Lowly & Deeper by Dane Ortlund; 1 2 3 books by Jen Wilkin; Be Thou My Vision; Suffering & New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp; ESV Study Bible (black genuine leather) and more.
There are a couple of new Kindle deals yesterday and today.
The Speck You See in Their Eye Might Be the Exact Log in Yours
“In a time when the world’s view of conflict resolution seems to be defined by ‘winning’ and humiliating your adversary, there is a lesson that I continually apply in order to try to bring grace and healing to tense situations.” It’s a lesson we’d all do well to consider.
Africa, the Prosperity Gospel, and the Problem of Unguarded Churches
I appreciate what Kenneth Mbugua has to say about the great need of the church in Africa.
January’s for Reflecting, Not Resolving
I think John Onwuchekwa may be on to something here. “Maybe part of the reason why so many resolutions fail by February is that they were early. Maybe the resolutions weren’t wrong; they were just underdeveloped. Maybe, they needed an extra month or two in the oven.”
God Has Not Given You a Stone
“God has not given you a stone in your circumstances. However pleasant or unpleasant your life may be, God is always giving the bread you need. He is never going to trick you or be cruel to you. God’s providence may lead us to a dry bank, yet even there God commands the raven to feeds us. In all things, even that thing you wish most never to have happened, God has not given you a stone.”
Millennials, Don’t Waste Your Childlessness
These are some interesting thoughts about an infamous tweet regarding intentionally childless millennials.
Homeschooling is a Better Offense than Defense
Samuel argues that homeschooling is better seen as a tool of offense than defense. “What is homeschooling good for? The answer, I think, is also fairly simple. Homeschooling is a powerful vehicle for personal formation, inasmuch as it normalizes a home-centered rhythm of life.”
Flashback: The Greatest Christians and the Most Visible Gifts
…in God’s economy earnestness counts for more than eloquence, obedience for more than acclaim, submission for more than any measure of visible success. If God chooses the weak to shame the strong, perhaps he also chooses the least visible to humble the most prominent.

God never leads us through a place too narrow for Him to pass as well. —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

This sponsored post was provided by Burke Care, and written by Cameron Woodall , which invites you to schedule care today with a certified biblical counselor.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me – John 15:4 ESV
Call me strange, but I tend to believe that cotton candy grapes are a glorious, bioengineered, rediscovery of a pre-Fall food. A small taste of redemption! That is until you find that one miniature, runt grape on the vine…the one that missed out on the vine’s enrichment and in its shriveled state leaves a sour taste in the mouth.  Those mini grapes must go, they find their home in the trash. Now I am not a horticulturist, but undoubtedly these undeveloped grapes did not receive what is needed to grow into mature fruit. And these grapes can be helpful reminders to us of our Lord’s choice words.
In His intimate, last moments in the upper room, Jesus tells His 11 disciples (Judas has already left to betray Him) that relationally abiding in Him will be essential for their spiritual survival and maturation. To protect them from going astray, to guarantee they will bear fruit to the glory of the Father, and to ensure they will not turn into runt grapes, Jesus tells them they must abide in Him as branches to the true Vine. When we read this today, why is it that we so often struggle to abide? Just the recognition that our abiding has taken a backseat is not enough, lest we think we just need to try harder; we need to consider “why” we are not abiding.
“Take a careful assessment of any person’s habits, and soon you can tell, with little margin for error, what really captures his heart” – David Mathis
Abiding is a measuring stick of our heart’s joy and its humility. I once saw a man wearing a t-shirt that said, “lion not sheep.”  Where you find a person who abides in Jesus, you find a humble sheep leaning on a good Shepherd. A sheep that recognizes its neediness and knows apart from the Shepherd it can do nothing. But where you find little abiding, you will find a pretend lion, leaning on itself with an independent, “I don’t need a Shepherd” heart posture. Simply put, our abiding (or not) reveals what we believe about ourselves and ultimately what we believe about the person of Jesus.  Do our habits reveal we believe Him to be our indispensable Good Shepherd, or rather a fire-extinguisher in a glass case…break only in extreme emergencies?
When you think about your prayer life, your enjoyment of Jesus in the Word, your frequency of running into the arms of your Good Father, your need for Christian community…are these familiar habits where you’re abiding in Jesus as a grape to a Vine?  If we are not abiding in Christ, make no mistake, we are abiding in something we believe offers better security and joy. What do your habits reveal you are abiding in? If you feel a desire to know what it means to abide in Christ and see newfound fruit borne in your life, Burke Care would love to walk alongside you in that journey.
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In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord. Psalm 77:2 ESV
Lord Jesus, my world is upside-down, topsy-turvy, and inside-out right now. It’s hard for me to believe that all of *this* is under Your control. But it is—because You are. You are the all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present Author and Finisher of our faith. When my countenance falls, when my perspective shrinks, when my heart is weary, when my mind is restless, please grant me the grace to see You and the faith to believe that You see me.

Where do you find abiding difficult?
Have you ever thought about having the option of abiding instead of “fight, flight, or freeze?”
Do you have a safe place where you can practice abiding?