Bond Falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
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
Here are some good posts to help you pray and continue to ponder thanksgiving:
Let My First Thought Today Be of You – John Baillie (via Trevin Wax)
Eternal Father of my soul,
let my first thought today be of You,
let my first impulse be to worship You…
A Prayer for Overflowing with Thanksgiving – Scotty Smith
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to be a man who gives you the quality and quantity of thanks of which you are so absolutely worthy. Not like a slow drip, a babbling brook, or a meandering stream, but like a geyser—a gospel geyser—spontaneously erupting with gratitude any and every moment. I want to overflow with thankfulness…
Entitlement and Thanksgiving – Thom Rainer
If I feel entitled, I complain to God about why He is treating me so unfairly.
If I am thankful, I know that I deserve nothing good, that all gifts are an act of grace.
A Prayer for our President – Kevin DeYoung
Grant him wisdom, courage, and integrity as a man and as a leader.
Keep him faithful, kind, and loving as a husband and father…
Pray For Your Pastor – Tim Challies
Pastors see the reality of the spiritual battle they face and they long for prayers—your prayers…
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping the Lord with His people!
Here are some good posts to ponder for Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving Quotes – Three Passions
A Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving – The Valley of Visions (via Tim Challies)
Thanksgiving and the Appropriate Number of Prepositions – Tim Challies
(You must be thankful to, not just thankful for)
What Really Happened on the First Thanksgiving – Justin Taylor
Family Feuds and Tensions over the Holidays – Justin Taylor
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving giving thanks to our great God!
Here is a great song to get us thinking about God’s goodness as we prepare for Thanksgiving tomorrow:
Lake Superior coastline in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
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
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
When the Gospel Invades Your Office – Interview with Tim Keller (via Gospel Coalition)
It is quite possible to believe that your deepest identity should be in Christ, but still have a heart functioning as if it is grounded in your work.
8 Observations About Sacrificial Giving – J.D. Greear
Everybody had a part because God was not after a few resources of a few wealthy people; he was after the hearts of all his people.
Seven Reasons Why Evangelism Should Be A Priority Of Your Church – Thom Rainer
Pastors and other leaders must fall on their faces before God and ask Him to reignite their congregations with an evangelistic passion. When evangelism dies as a priority in the church, the church has already begun to die.
6 Simple Ways To Be Missional – Tim Chester (via Resurgence)
We all eat three meals a day. That’s 21 opportunities for church and mission each week without adding anything new to your schedule. And meals are a powerful expression of welcome and community.
How To Grow In Courage – Kevin DeYoung
You will not be bold to speak of Jesus unless you spend much time with Jesus. Courage comes out of communion.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping our great God with your local church!
God wants us to persevere in trials. God wants us to persevere in doing good. So how can we persevere? Four words from God’s Word:
How might you need to apply these four words to your life today?
God calls us to persevere. In Hebrews 12:1-3, he tells us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Jesus “endured the cross” and “endured from sinners such hostility against himself” – and we too are to persevere in our trials. And not for no reason.
Jesus endured for our good, to purchase our salvation. And we are to endure that we might do what is good. God tells us in Galatians 6:9-10, that we should “not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Each day we have opportunities to do good, so we must persevere daily through the trials and struggles to do the good God gives us to do.
We are told not to give up, so we must persevere until the end. We can retire from our jobs, but we cannot retire from doing good, serving Christ, seeking his kingdom. We are to persevere until our final breath.
God wants us to persevere through our trials to daily do the good he gives us to do until the end. Are you persevering through your trials? Are you doing the good God has given you to do?
May God help us to persevere in this way. In the next post, we will look at how.
Let your goodness, O God, bind my heart with a chain
to you! Seal my will to yours with an unbreakable application of your eternal covenant…. Keep me!
Preserve me! Defeat every rising rebellion!
Overcome every niggling doubt! Deliver from every destructive temptation! Nullify every fatal allurement! Expose every demonic deception! Tear down every arrogant argument! Shape me! Incline me! Hold me! Master me! Do whatever you must do to keep me trusting you and fearing you till Jesus comes or calls.
– John Piper in The Roots of Endurance
Frustration is normal, disappointment is normal, sickness is normal. Conflict, persecution, danger, stress – they are all normal. The mind-set that moves away from these
will move away from reality and away from Christ.
Golgotha was not a suburb of Jerusalem.
– John Piper in The Roots of Endurance
