May God bless you as you serve and worship him this weekend.

There are some new Kindle deals to browse through.
(Yesterday on the blog: Is It Unspiritual To Be Depressed?)
Can Christians ‘Do Business’ with the World?
“In recent decades, a number of prominent Christian organizations and denominations have called for Christians to boycott businesses that are associated in some way with non-Christian ethics.” This article asks whether this is necessary.
Did We Kiss Purity Goodbye?
There are some interesting reflections here on the successes and failures of purity culture. “Calls for sexual purity were (and are) biblical and needed. Even in the midst of the good that was done through lots of preaching and discipleship during those years, several lies seemed to spread in the renewed emphasis on purity — each laced with enough truth to be taken seriously and yet with enough deceit to lead some astray.”
4 Traits of an Emotionally Healthy Ministry Worker
Eliza Huie affirms the importance of spiritual health but says “spiritual vitality is not the only area of health ministry workers need to pursue. Your emotional health is also essential. Below are four traits of emotionally healthy people for you to pursue. If you’re in ministry, each one is worthy of your careful consideration.”
Chasing Sunsets
“Why did God give us sunsets? He could have made the shift from light to dark an instantaneous change. One moment it’s day, the next it’s night. One moment you can see, the next you can’t. But written into creation is a gradual movement in colors that hurts our eyes with brilliance and bends our brains with wonder every single day that we care to pause and notice.” Glenna Marshall marvels at God’s handiwork.
The 3 Motivations to Work
“There tend to be three primary motivations that drive people to accomplish something, but it is not until we reach the third that we are nearing maturity.”
God Sees the Pain Unseen by Others
“At a moment’s notice, chaos could erupt in our home. But it never failed that our most difficult moments with our child’s challenges often occurred on the mornings I was determined to make it to my bible study. And this particular morning was no different.” Sarah Walton writes about a special moment.
Flashback: The Opposite of Envy
Neither someone else’s success nor our lack of success changes who we are in Christ. Neither some else’s failures nor our own has any bearing on who we are in him.

It will not take long for God to make up to you in the next world for all you have suffered in this. —De Witt Talmage

This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Reformation Heritage Books, who also sponsored the blog this week.

The Family Worship Bible Guide aims to provide invaluable help to those who want to do daily, intentional family worship. The guide presents the two or three major practical takeaways from each chapter in the Bible. Click here to try a 7-day sample of the FWBG in the gospel of John. Enter the giveaway below for your opportunity to win one of three copies of the new leather-like edition.
To Enter
Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. When you enter, you agree to be placed on Reformation Heritage Books’ email list. The winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes on November 17, 2023.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am down in Louisville visiting Abby for a couple of days. If you spend time on the SBTS campus and see me, please say hi!
There is a long list of Kindle deals to work through today.
That Are Not of This Fold
“We, like Jesus’ initial Jewish followers, tend to believe that there are certain types of people who believe, and certain types of people who really don’t. Those similar to us almost always fall into the category of ‘likely open to belief.’ And groups we are naturally opposed to often end up in the category of ‘unlikely to believe.’” Such a view permeates every time and every culture.
Prayer as Reverent Conversation
Jared Wilson: “I characterize prayer as ‘spilling your guts’ — to say that we can pray as if we are simply having a conversation with our heavenly Dad, is not to say that we ought to be irreverent or disrespectful. God does not require that we grovel in self-loathing or jump through religious hoops to talk to him, but this does not mean we speak to him as if he is not the perfectly holy Lord of All.”
The Body is More Than a Tool
Carl Trueman looks at the modern understanding of the body and explains why it is so very harmful. “That notion—that the body is merely an appendage—is clear in the strangely external way the brief talks about the body. ”
How Studying the Bible Restores the Soul 
Life is more than existence. It is more than survival. God’s word makes us aware of where we are and who we are. God’s word stretches our minds, helps us see how things really are, and shapes our actions. God’s word teaches us what words to say to God. Those who read often and well find that it gives life. (Sponsored Link)
Thrown Under the Bus
I enjoyed Andrée Seu Peterson’s thoughts on being thrown under the bus.
Not Easily Offended
“A friend of mine has often reminded me that most friendships among professing believers cannot bear more than a single offense. People in the church are so easily offended that they are ready to write off another believer over the most insignificantly offensive word or actions. This betrays the fact that we have not learned to bear long with one another and to forgive one another.”
What Is The Greatest Difference Between Reformed Theology And Non-reformed Theology? (Video)
Robet Godfrey explains here.
The Weight and Wound of the Word
“The Bible is miraculously cohesive, but it is not uniform. Different portions were given for different purposes; distinct authors at distinct moments to distinct audiences.” Ryan explains in this article.
Flashback: Sexual Morality in a Christless World
The former morality, based on the Christian scriptures, is being shoved aside by a new one that not only departs from the Bible, but outright rejects it.

If we claim to be Christians, we may not choose whom we will love. —J.R. Miller