Audible (Amazon’s audiobook service) is offering a holiday special where your first three months are just $0.99 per month. In that time you’ll be able to download, listen to, and keep 3 audiobooks of your choice from their massive catalog. Set a reminder on your phone for 3 months from now and then decide if you’d like to keep or cancel the service. (You are eligible for the deal if you have not had an Audible membership in the past 365 days.)
Today’s Kindle deals include You Are Still a Mother which is a beautiful and comforting book for those who are grieving stillbirth or miscarriage. There are other good options as well.

Douglas Groothuis offers some simple but helpful advice on writing a meaningful card. “Writing cards is a way to re-humanize a de-humanized culture. Too much is too automatic and impersonal. When you pen (and I mean pen) a card, it bears the mark of your handwriting, your choice of ink and pen. A human—you—emerges from the thick lagoon of the pre-set, the template, the standard, the algorithm.”

Joni Eareckson Tada explains how God brings us bad in order to give us best. “When God lobs a hand grenade into life and rattles our faith to the core, we wonder how he’ll work the pieces of shrapnel together for our good. What does good mean, anyway?”

More than 500 years ago, Martin Luther effectively sparked the Protestant Reformation by posting his Ninety-Five Theses. How did an obscure Augustinian monk become the man God would use to set the world ablaze? Today, Ligonier Ministries is offering a free download of the ebook The Legacy of Luther, edited by R.C. Sproul and Stephen Nichols. Add this volume to your digital library and explore Luther’s life, teaching, and enduring influence. (Sponsored)

I enjoyed Ed’s explanation of the difference notebooks have made to his faith. “It’s my way of extracting the most value from each sermon. For me, listening and note-taking go hand in hand. And when I review, highlight and summarize, my understanding and retention skyrocket.”

“Imagine if Timothy had responded to Paul’s exhortation saying that he may or may not shipwreck his faith, depending on what the grace of God had in store for him. Yet we do speak this way in the wake of church scandals, and appear humble. But the renouncing of personal agency among Christian men regarding sexual sin is no virtue; it is cowardice.”

Cindy Matson: “I’d rather not write this article. Anyone who knows me knows that competitiveness lodges deep within my bones. I want to come out on top whether playing tic-tac-toe, four-square, taking a test, or parenting my kids. I size up the competition and track the most likely path to victory. Of course, I don’t always win. I lose. A lot. But that doesn’t mean I like it.”

I enjoyed reading this one. “Whether there is media coverage of natural disasters or not, regardless of the scale, you will find faithful Southern Baptist volunteers hailing from 45,000 churches around the United States donning yellow shirts and mobilizing to the affected area. With the two Hurricanes, Milton and Helene, the SBC has thousands of men and women on the ground in western North Carolina, Georgia, east Tennessee, and Florida.”

I would need to dedicate time to training and discipling them but also to just enjoying them. I would, essentially, need to woo and win my own children, to prove myself a worthy, valuable friend.

Having a gospel zeal means we’re about our Father’s business—sharing the gospel in word and deed, and caring for the least, the last, and the lost.
—J. A. Medders and Doug Logan Jr.

As another year draws to a close, I wanted to take some time to consider the books I read in 2023 and to assemble a list of my top picks. Apart from the first book, which I consider the best I read this year, the rest are in no particular order. In each case I’ve included a brief excerpt from my review. (You can read my reviews of these books and many others here.)

Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal by Matthew Martens. I rank this as the best largely because it got me to think about things I’ve never really considered before and pushed me to think about them in a distinctly Christian way. Most of us probably assume that the criminal justice system in our country is generally sound. We may believe that it needs some tweaks here and there. We may understand that because it exists in a fallen world it will in some ways reflect the sins and weaknesses of the people who control and oversee it. But rarely do we pause to ask questions like this: If we had to design a criminal justice system from scratch and do so in a way that is consistent with Scripture, what might it look like? What principles would we embed within it? And how closely would it resemble the system we currently have? These are the question this fascinating book answers from a distinctly Christian perspective. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books; read my review)

Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age by Samuel James. Samuel James’ Digital Liturgies is meant to help you think about digital technologies and the social internet they enable. For these are not harmless or inconsequential tools. Neither can they be exactly compared to any tools that we have previously experienced in human history, for they alone provide a “disembodied electronic environment that we enter through connected devices for the purpose of accessing information, relationships, and media that are not available to us in a physical format.” Our use of these technologies and our increasing immersion in them essentially brings us into a whole new kind of world in which we leave aside so much of what makes us who we are. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books; read my review)

David Livingstone: Missionary, Explorer, Abolitionist by Vance Christie. There are some historical figures whose every sin seems to get overlooked and whose every virtue seems to get amplified. Conversely, there are other historical figures whose every virtue seems to get overlooked and whose every sin seems to get amplified. I would place the modern understanding of David Livingstone squarely in the latter category. Though he was most certainly a flawed individual, it seems that today he is known only for those flaws rather than for his many strengths. It’s for this reason that Vance Christie’s weighty new biography of Livingstone is so timely and so important. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books; read my review)

Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I enjoy reading a good biography as much as anyone, but was perhaps a bit skeptical about a book that, instead of focusing on an individual’s life and accomplishments, instead describes his spiritual and intellectual formation. Yet what could have been a mite dry was actually very compelling. Whether you have been influenced by Keller or not, whether you admire him or not, I believe you will enjoy this account of his life framed around his intellectual and spiritual development. Told through the pen of an especially talented a writer, it is a fascinating and compelling narrative. It may just get you thinking about who has formed you and compel you to praise God for the people, the preachers, the books, and the organizations that have made you who you are. (Buy it at Amazonor Westminster Books; read my review)

The Gender Revolution: A Biblical, Biological and Compassionate Response by Patricia Weerakoon, Robert Smith, and Kamal Weerakoon. This is a book that has been written to provide a biblical, biological, and compassionate response to the modern day gender ideology that has been flooding our world and sweeping away so many victims. It is written by a fascinating combination of authors: Patricia Weerakoon who is a now-retired medical doctor, counsellor, sex therapist, speaker, writer and academic; Kamal Weerakoon (Patricia’s son) who is a missions director at a Presbyterian church; and Robert Smith who is a long-time lecturer in theology, ethics and music ministry at Sydney Missionary & Bible College. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books; read my review)

Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson. The book’s big idea is that the year “1776, more than any other year in the last millennium, is the year that made us who we are.” In this case, the “us” refers to those who live in what we might call the modern, industrialized West. I very much enjoyed reading Remaking the World. It is an enjoyable book, a well-paced book, and one written with verve. It takes on an audacious thesis and, as far as I can tell (even while admitting I’m entirely unqualified to judge), one the author defends well. I think you’re likely to enjoy it just as much as I did. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books; read my review)

Memorable Loss: A Story of Friendship in the Face of Dementia by Karen Martin. This is Karen Martin’s account of the days from immediately prior to her friend Kathleen’s diagnosis of dementia all the way to her passing. It explains Alzheimer’s and dementia and shows how though they necessarily reduce the patient’s capacities, they do not reduce her personhood. It tells of some of the trials that caretakers must endure and some of the agonizing decisions they need to make on behalf of the one they love. And it does all of this through the highest quality of prose. It’s an achingly beautiful account that leaves the reader groaning with the sorrow of this world but rejoicing in its delights and longing for the day when death and mourning, when crying and pain, will have passed away. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books; read my review)

You Are Still a Mother: Hope for Women Grieving a Stillbirth or Miscarriage by Jackie Gibson. There is no path through this life that does not involve hardship. There is no path through this life that does not involve sorrow and loss. One of the most common sorrows, the most common losses, is that of a child who dies through miscarriage or stillbirth. So many parents are familiar with the agony of losing a child they never truly got to know, yet loved with their whole heart. Writing specifically for mothers who have become members of a club that no one wants to join, Jackie Gibson’s message to them is this: You are still a mother. (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books; read my review)

I am grateful to Moody Publishers for sponsoring the blog this week so they could tell you about a timely new book titled Known for Love. In it, Casey Hough provides a biblical and theological framework for thinking through the hard situations we encounter with family and friends. Drawing from a well of faithful biblical scholars, Hough provides insights for everyday Christians living in a sexually broken world.
Westminster Kids Week wraps up with a neat new title from Paul Tautges.
Today’s Kindle deals include some newer and older titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: Making Good Return)

Trevin Wax: “The heart’s silent cry, giving rise to tears of anguish no one else sees—the aloneness compounds the heartache. In those moments when you’re wronged, or your name is slandered, or your intentions are questioned . . . In the times when you feel alone or abandoned . . . In the aftermath of saying what’s true and paying a price, when you’ve experienced the deep wounds of injustice or betrayal . . . the Lord sees.”

Church is good. Small group is good. But it’s important that we maintain the distinction between them. “I will explain three reasons why your small group is not a church, but keep in mind that all three reasons (not just the first) are simply clarifying and unpacking this fundamental point: churches wield heaven’s authority, small groups do not.”

Joel Smit considers a few biblical fathers and their examples of faithfulness or lack of faithfulness. “These Old Testament stories are given by God for more than just parental instruction, but at the same time, they are not less than that. Therefore, they offer us both warnings and opportunities to learn how to best lead our children (and ourselves) toward godliness.”

Doug includes some interesting points in his look at the deconstruction of gender. “Gender exists, and it is a real thing. That is why the sexual revolutionaries have the footing to speak rationally about it; we all have an objective point of reference. They must borrow from the traditional worldview to make any sense of their own. However, they refute themselves when they lean on the historical understanding of gender in their attempts to undermine it.”

TGC has a pair of articles that each answer this question: Are images of Christ OK? The negative response is linked above while the positive response can be found here. (For what it’s worth, I’d lean well toward the “no” side.)

“We are a culture obsessed with assessment. In addition to physical assessments, these days, there are all kinds of tests to measure our personality, emotional state, intellect, productivity, and relational capacities. Do you know what we’ve never been able to find a tool to measure? Our wisdom.”

Look inside, to be certain, but also look outside to ensure the fruit of your relationship with the Lord is a gift not only to you, but to all you know, all you love.

Human fatherhood exists to display the beauty of God’s Fatherhood. Our highest calling as fathers is to be the image of God’s fatherhood to our children.
—John Piper