Bits & Pieces (9/4/12)

  • Inconvenienced by Inconvenience – Tim Challies reminds us that our house, our time and our home are not our own and just like the Good Samaritan, we should be willing to be inconvenienced in order to minister to those God has placed in our lives.


  • Painful Prayer – ” If euphoric feelings are what hold my affection, then I will be destined for a roller coaster ride of euphoria and despair. But if God is my rock, then I can rejoice. I must live according to the truth that joy in the Lord can be found despite the darkest of feelings. “


  • Rivers of Peace & Waves of Sorrow – “Sometimes adding a simple conjunction can go a long ways. Things easily passed over appear in a new light. Or at least this happened for me when I was recently singing one of my favorite hymns, ‘It Is Well with My Soul.'”


  • What is Forgiveness? – Kevin DeYoung offers an interesting perspective on forgiveness – “Overcoming anger and resentment is important, but forgiveness is something more, something different, something that involves two parties instead of one.”


  • 7 Books to Enjoy with Kids – The number of kids books is staggering but it seems like it’s often difficult to find a gem in the midst of the myriad of options. Here are 7 that Trevin Wax recommends.


  • Silencing the Devil – “How easily, because of his craftiness, we confuse Satan and Santa. Their names are indeed anagrams of each other, and they both were obviously told by someone, somewhere along the way that they look good in red. We tend to think, however, that just as Santa carries about a giant bag of goodies, so the devil carries around a giant bag of temptations, that his principle weapon is to tempt us toward illicit pleasures. Truth be told Satan’s name is derived from the word for Accuser. He is far more interested in pointing out our past failures than he is enticing us to new ones.”
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Bits & Pieces (Holiday Edition)

I’ve haven’t posted a Bits & Pieces in a while due to some unexpected time away from blogging. I’m still catching up, but here are some links you might enjoy this Labor Day holiday.

 

  • Kindle Deals – Tim Challies has links to several Kindle deals in today’s post.

  • The Beloit Mindset – A fascinating list released every year containing facts on entering college freshmen. Read it and be reminded of how much the world has changed in 18 years. (H/T)

 

  • When Friends Fail Us – A beautiful reminder from John Piper on how to respond when friends, even Christian friends, fail us.

 

  • Trusting God Through Trauma – After his mom was involved in a terrible accident, Patrick Schreiner shares some of the thoughts that comforted him as they waited for answers. (H/T)

 

 

  • Public v. Private Worship – This post makes the case that there are benefits to public worship that are not present when we worship in private. (H/T)


  • By This All Will Know – “After we have given all the arguments, the defenses and the evidences, loving one another is the final apologetic.”


  • The Magnificent Defeat – “And there is truth to the thought that surrendering to God is a struggle that begins again every day as if nothing had yet been done. But it is in this great surrendering where we find not battle but mystery, not struggle but release. We find, as Fredrick Buechner observes, ‘the magnificent defeat of the human soul at the hands of God.'”
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