The grace of giving has nothing to do with being well off. It is not dictated by ability. It is a willingness to give. Giving is viewed as a privilege. It is joyously enthusiastic and pleads for the opportunity to give more.
– R. Kent Hughes in Disciplines of a Godly Man
The Men’s Discipleship Group at my church went through R. Kent Hughes book, Disciplines of a Godly Man this past year. It was a good study. One discipline Hughes focused on was giving. He calls for a disciplined understanding of giving and a disciplined act of giving.
Disciplined Understanding of Giving
Disciplined Act of Giving
– J. C. Ryle
Why do people choose the substitutes over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah’s colorful language, the “scarecrows in a cucumber field” (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user’s control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous. People who “remain in the center of their lives and loyalties, autonomous architects of their own futures,” Keyes argues, thereby avoid coming face to face with God and his truth. They need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry.
– David Wells in God in the Wasteland
Trust in the Lord – our strong city
Our place of perfect peace
Yearn for the Lord – seek earnestly
His mercies never cease
Look to the Lord’s amazing grace
He opens blinded eyes
Hope in the Lord and run your race
In Him one day you’ll rise
Hide in the Lord and in his cross
No judgment now we face
In Him, in Him, we find no loss
Sing, sing His glorious grace
– From a sermon on Isaiah 26
(To the tune of “Amazing Grace”)
Here are some good posts for Pastors/Elders:
What Makes for a Good Elder? – Jason Helopoulos
The Elder’s Qualifications – Kevin DeYoung
Why Pastor’s Need the Body of Christ – Paul Tripp (TGC)
Passion Habits
And after he had taken leave of them,
he went up on the mountain to pray.
– Mark 6:46 (ESV)
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
Don’t Waste Your Beach Vacation – Steve Dewitt (Via Trevin Wax)
Three Tips for Better Bible Reading – Andy Naselli (DG)
5 Insights Into Idolatry – J. D. Greear
8 Ways to Beat Temptation – Mark Altrogge
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping our glorious and gracious God with your local church!
Each day is a vessel to be freighted with holy deeds
and earnest endeavours before it weighs anchor
and sets sail for the eternal shores.
How many hours we misspend!
How many occasions we lose!
How many precious gifts of God we squander!
– David McIntyre in The Hidden Life of Prayer
A weekly collection of current news and issues in the church, country, and world.
“Was Bonhoeffer Gay?” and Other Adventures in Missing the Point – Trevin Wax
Mosul’s Last Christians Flee Iraq’s Hoped-For Christian Stronghold – Kate Tracy (CT)
Brian J. Mikul 