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Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 12

October 17, 2024

October 16, 2024

Kindle Deals for October 16

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Take Heart: Daily Devotions to Deepen Your Faith by David Powlison – $4.99

Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles by David Powlison – $3.99

Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies by N.T. Wright & Michael Bird – $2.99

Money, Possessions, and Eternity: A Comprehensive Guide to What the Bible Says about Financial Stewardship, Generosity, Materialism, Retirement, Financial Planning, Gambling, Debt, and More by Randy Alcorn – $3.99

What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachel Denhollander – $3.99

Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets by Burkhard Bilfer – $3.99

The Death of a President: November 20-November 25, 1963 by William Manchester – $2.99

The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream by Gary Younge – $2.99

MY BOOKS:

Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another – $8.99

The Pastor’s Kid: What it’s Like and How to Help – $8.99

Help My Unbelief: Why doubt is not the enemy of faith – $8.99

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life’s most elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality – $8.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

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Published on October 16, 2024 05:00

October 15, 2024

Kindle Deals for October 15

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis – $1.99

Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer by C.S. Lewis – $1.99

The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis – $1.99

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges – $3.99

Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions by Tim Keller – $4.99

Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon – $6.49

Classic Christianity: A Systematic Theology by Thomas C. Oden – $1.99

Afraid of All the Things: Tornadoes, Cancer, Adoption, and Other Stuff you Need the Gospel For by Scarlet Hiltibidal – $4.99

Searching for Bobby Fischer: A Father’s Story of Love and Ambition by Fred Waitzkin – $2.99

Lincoln’s Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency by Dan Abrams – $2.99

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn – $1.99

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson – $4.99

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. By Daniel Coyle – $2.99

MY BOOKS:

Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another – $8.99

The Pastor’s Kid: What it’s Like and How to Help – $8.99

Help My Unbelief: Why doubt is not the enemy of faith – $8.99

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life’s most elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality – $8.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

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Published on October 15, 2024 04:55

October 14, 2024

God’s Pruning Shears

John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser . . .every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

I know next to nothing about gardening, but my neighbor, Ms. Sandy, is a fantastic gardener. She can grow beautiful and delicious things. Nearly every time we talk I learn something about how to cultivate plants. And it was Ms. Sandy who helped me understand this wonderful verse. She showed me the purpose of pruning.

We see in this passage that Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches (15:5). We grow out of Christ. Our life is in and from Christ. If we are separated from Jesus we shrivel up spiritually and die. \

God the Father is the vinedresser, the gardener, and that means he is the one with the pruning shears. Gardeners prune plants to remove the unhealthy parts and to make room for even healthier growth. Who does he prune? Those branches who bear fruit. So if we are drawing life from Christ and our lives are showing public fruit (Christian character and courage, gospel witness, perseverance, sacrificial love, etc.) then we can expect to be pruned. 

Often we feel like the  difficulties we face in the Christian life are evidence of God’s displeasure. They seem like punishment or abandonment. In reality, they very well might be God pruning us so that we can bear more fruit. So our difficulties and suffering are evidence that God is pleased with us and has even greater plans for us. He sees our life in Christ, smiles on it, and prepares us for even more.  

I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville , in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.

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Published on October 14, 2024 03:08

October 11, 2024

3 Things I Like This Week – October 11

Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

1. The Classic Bandana

My dad was always a handkerchief guy–white cloth square in his back pocket for wiping a drippy nose. To this day the thought of putting snot back in your pocket and then having to launder it later is abominable to me. I say all that to clarify that I do not endorse the use of the bandana as a handkerchief. I do endorse the carrying of bandanas in pockets, purses, and cars for just about every other use–mopping sweat (necessary for some of of us bigger guys in warm climates), wiping kids’ faces, emergency bandage, etc. A dampened bandana is the original Magic Eraser. They are the duct tape of fabrics. Any adult should have one close by at all times.

 

2. Vitamix Blender

I was sold on the Vitamix when I watched my mom dump a bag of whole apples, some honey, and some cinnamon in hers, hit the start button and about 7-10 minutes later deliver delicious apple sauce to the table. These aren’t cheap, but they are worth the money. I use mine most mornings to make smoothies (that are actually smooth). If you are a soup or sauce person, these blenders are awesome. The Vitamix even comes with a recipe book because of all the possibilities you can make with it.

 

3. The Semicolon

[image error]An author I respect, who I would consider a trustworthy person and good thinker, posted something to the effect of “No sentence has ever been improved or made more elegant by using a semicolon.” In response I would simply like to say, rubbish. Admittedly, the misuse of the semicolon can muddle meanings and muck up otherwise sound writing. And, admittedly, learning any sort of “rules” about when to use one is nearly impossible because they don’t really exist. The semicolon is truly punctuation of style, an enhancement of otherwise sound writing by writers with the sensibility, dexterity, and panache to use it well. The semicolon is the gray area of writing–not a full stop leading to a new thought, but neither two thoughts combined into one. It communicates relationship and sequence but also distance and disparity. If that confuses you, don’t use the semicolon. If that intrigues you, become a fundamentally good writer who knows all the rules then use the semicolon.

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Published on October 11, 2024 05:46

October 10, 2024

October 9, 2024

Kindle Deals for October 9

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

The Book of Leviticus (New International Commentary on the Old Testament) by Gordon Wenham – $3.99

Revelation: A Shorter Commentary by G.K. Beale – $3.99

Proverbs: A Shorter Commentary by Bruce Waltke – $3.99

Song of Songs by Tremper Longman – $3.99

Gospel Eldership: Equipping a New Generation of Servant Leaders by Robert Thune – $3.99

Oversee God’s People: Shepherding the Flock Through Administration and Delegation by Brian Croft & Bryce Butler – $1.99

The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction by Eugene Peterson – $3.99

Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work by Eugene Peterson – $3.99

Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity by Eugene Peterson – $3.99

To Be a Woman: The Confusion Over Female Identity and How Christians Can Respond by Katie J. McCoy PhD – $4.99

The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God’s Mercy by Tim Keller – $4.99

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll – $3.99

Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture by Lesslie Newbigin – $3.99

MY BOOKS:

The Pastor’s Kid: What it’s Like and How to Help – $8.99

Help My Unbelief: Why doubt is not the enemy of faith – $8.99

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life’s most elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality – $8.99

Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another – $8.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

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Published on October 09, 2024 06:01

October 8, 2024