Some of the good blogging found this week:

Nearness Is Enough, HT to Challies. “For years, I thought the nearness of God would mean that everything would be okay or, at the very least, feel okay. I hoped that his nearness would mean some sort of tangible presence, some sort of relief from pain. I hoped that it would act as a shield and protection around me, that it would stop the fiery arrows of the enemy from penetrating my heart. But that was not the nearness of God.”

Trump, Trudeau, and the 51st State. The situation in Canada, from one who lives there.

Narcissus in Public, HT to Challies. “I took my family to downtown DC, ending the day with what we had envisioned as an idyllic skate at the ice rink in the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden. Although it was lovely, as ice skating always is, the experience was marred by the presence, for most of our one-hour skate, of a cluster of young women for whom the rink’s only value was as background scenery for Instagram glamour shots.”

The Prosperity Gospel We Sometimes All Believe In. “There is a version of the prosperity gospel that we can all believe in and it goes something like this: ‘God, I gave my life to you, and in exchange I expect you to make my life easy. I may not need riches or opulence, perfect health or abundant wealth, but I would like ease. And if you take that ease from me, I may just assume that your feelings for me have altered or your love for me has waned. I may even regret following you. Please, just keep my life easy.’”

Please Don’t Sing “Imagine” at Funerals, HT to Challies. Or any time, really.

Will You Pass the Test of Praise? HT to Challies. “Generally, testing feels like something we want to avoid. But Scripture mentions a surprising test which looks, at first glance, like an exam we all want and could easily ace.”

The End of My Words. “‘The words of Job are ended.’ Have you ever come to the end of your words? I have. More than once, in my sanctification process, I’ve cried and wailed, and a time or two, I’ve even screamed my case before God until nothing was left. Dry bones. And at the end of my words, something miraculous took place.”

Hosting a Missionary Family. Tips and insights for churches and families hosting a visiting missionary.

I wish, my brothers and sisters, that during this year you may live nearer to Christ than you have ever done before. Depend upon it, it is when we think much of Christ that we think little of ourselves, little of our troubles, and little of the doubts and fears that surround us.
— Charles Spurgeon