Good morning. Grace and peace to you today and for the duration of the year that has just begun. May this be a year in which you know so many of the Lord’s sweet blessings.
Today’s Kindle deals include a selection of 2023’s bestselling books from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Happiest Year You Will Ever Know)

This is a strong column from Andrew Walker. “Has anyone else noticed that many Christian journalists have gone more or less silent on issues of cultural controversy that intersect with the so-called culture war? For example, I haven’t heard an affirmation of the exclusivity of Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture, or biblical views on abortion or sexuality in years from many who write at these outlets. When was the last time one of these writers picked up their pen or used their platform to defend the interests of conservative Evangelicals in any meaningful way, even if it put them at odds with their cosmopolitan readership?”

Ed Welch considers ways we may unintentionally hurt the very people we are trying to comfort.

“What will your New Year’s resolution be for 2024? It’s a question probably equal parts hated and anticipated. Some people look forward to this season every year as an opportunity to reflect and reset. Others feel guilt from the hauntings of failed resolutions past and would rather glide into the new year without disruption to the status quo. But how should the disciple of Christ treat this season?”

I enjoyed this conversation between Greg Koukl and Amy Hall. They discuss whether the fact that Christianity isn’t necessarily easy to understand or defend means that it’s not true.

Andrew Kerr offers comfort for people who may be experiencing sorrow. “If God’s heavy hand weighs heavily on your heart, or the sweet narrative of your life has been soured by a bitter taste, recall, precious lamb, your story isn’t finished yet – the author of your tale, from birth, through death, to life, knew how your story concluded before the beginning of the age.”

Dayo Adewoye: “The African Christian has a distinct challenge. He (and she) stands amidst two different systems which daily war against his soul. And in his desire to be faithful to Christ, he must faithfully and discerningly wage the war against them.”

Happy New Year! Here is a prayer I found in Heart Cries to Heaven by David Campbell. It seemed very appropriate for the start of a new year.

The happiest home is not one which has never known grief—but one whose songs of gladness have in them a minor strain.
—J.R. Miller

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.

Blessings to you on this fine day.

The Growth of Good Theology in Africa
This is an excellent article from TGC as they profile Ken Mbugua and tell about his work in Kenya.
Do you need to go to deliverance ministries?
And speaking of good theology in Africa (in general) and Kenya (in particular), here’s an article from Kuza about deliverance ministries.
Studying the Bible is not Code Breaking
“Some Christians act like the Bible is written in a mysterious language, accessible only to a select few. Bible study is left to the brilliant, the professionals who can teach the rest of us.” This is not right!
The Book That Packed A Punch
“Marking time is an odd aspect of human existence. Anniversaries divisible by five, ten, or twenty-five have more significance than those using lesser divisors. A centennial or bi-centennial raises the stakes even higher. The hundredth anniversary this year of Christianity and Liberalism, penned by the then Princeton Seminary professor J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), has prompted some Protestants to take another look at the book that Yale historian, Sydney Ahlstrom, called the ‘chief theological ornament’ of Protestant fundamentalism.”
What’s the Difference between Venting and Lamenting?
“Christians today are increasingly aware of the importance of emotions. This growing emotional awareness is a positive development—especially when we learn how to process those emotions with God! At the same time, and perhaps even connected to this heightened emotional awareness, there is a growing recognition of the importance of lament. But as we think through processing our emotions and practicing lament, there is an important distinction to make. That distinction is the difference between venting and lamenting.”
A Plea for Fewer Metaphors in Children’s Talks
TGC Australia offers some pointers for those who teach children.
Flashback: The Parable of the Acorn
We find ourselves attuned more to our spiritual defeats than spiritual victories, more to the sin that remains than the holiness won. Though we may not be who and what we once were, we are still not nearly who and what we long to be.

So dear is sin to a man, that he will rather part with a child than a lust… —Thomas Watson