Outside our home last winter.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
– Psalm 19:1
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
– Romans 1:20
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost,
whether he has enough to complete it.
– Luke 14:28
For which of you, desiring to remodel your living room and children’s bedrooms,
does not first sit down and count the cost, to see if you have enough time to do it.
Okay so I flunked on that second one, and have been giving all my extra time to it.
But the remodeling is almost done, so I should be blogging again soon….
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving giving thanks to God for our many blessings! Here are a few good posts for your weekend reading:
Kevin DeYoung gives us four helpful principles for generous giving.
Bobby Jamieson asks what corporate worship is for (hint: it is more than worship).
Bill Clem argues that gospel community is all about imaging God to each other.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day applying these three posts!
Never was there an eminent saint who was not full of thankfulness.
– J.C. Ryle
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
– Psalm 100:4-5
Good God, many and great are the blessings by which I am bound to Thee, and for which I give Thee most hearty thanks; but how can I sufficiently thank Thee for having enlightened me with the holy faith? I tremble, O Lord, when I compare this Thy great gift with my own ingratitude.
– Francis de Sales
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
– 1662 Book of Common Prayer
Glen Lake in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
– Psalm 19:1
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
– Romans 1:20
In Luke 17:11-19, ten lepers come to Jesus to be healed. Jesus tells them to go and show themesleves to the priests. As they go, all ten are healed. One turned back and “fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.”
Were the other nine glad to be healed? Undoubtedly they were! Leprosy was a horrible disease, and made one an outcast of society. Certainly they were happy to be healed. You might say they were thankful, that they had grateful hearts. But they never came back to give thanks.
Many in America this week, will celebrate Thanksgiving. They will have grateful hearts as they think of the good things in their lives. But they will never come to the Lord who gave them every good thing, and give thanks to him.
As Christians, we too can fail to give thanks. God answers a prayer, and we are very happy about it. But we forget to thank the Lord.
This week and every day, may God help us to not only have grateful hearts like the nine, but to return to the Lord and give thanks to him.
Here are some good posts to read and ponder this weekend:
A great quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, speaking of revival through a more determined quest for Christ.
John Piper reminds us that Christ must be the center around which our entire lives revolve.
Matthew Wynne writes of the joyful path of the pilgrim.
Finally, as we prepare to gather in our local churches tomorrow, consider J. C. Ryle’s words on how we should approach the preaching of God’s Word.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping our great God with his people.
Yesterday I asked two questions:
Where are you placing your trust?
Where are you seeking your blessing?
As I have been thinking about this, I would suggest that our prayer lives help us answer these questions. If we trust in God in the midst of trials, we will look to him in prayer for those trials. If we seek God for blessings, we will look to him in prayer for those blessings. The more we trust God, the more we will pray. The more we seek our blessings from him, the more we will pray.
On the other hand, if our prayer lives are small, I suspect our trust in God is likewise small. If we pray only a little, we are seeking God for blessings only a little. A small prayer life suggests that we may be trusting in something else, that we are seeking blessings somewhere else, that we are looking to an idol.
What does your prayer life reveal about you?
Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out
of the heart or soul to God through Christ,
in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit,
for such things as God hath promised,
or according to the Word, for the good of the Church,
in Faith, to the will of God.
– John Bunyan
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the LORD,
both the small and the great.
– Psalm 115:2-13
Brian J. Mikul 