Bits & Pieces (11/26/12)

Praying for Our Children – This post offers several categories and specific things to consider praying for your children.
Growing in the Grace of Prayer – Prayer is often one of those things that we know we should do, but struggle with doing so effectively. This post offers two very practical tips and includes some prayers of noteworthy people of faith that can be instructive for us.
Court’s Hobby Lobby Ruling – In case you missed the news, a federal court refused to grant Hobby Lobby an injunction against the provisions of the health care mandate that violate the owners’ faith.
The Atonement – Ever wondered how to explain the concept of the atonement to someone? Tim Challies does so for you here.
We Must Have Help to See Right – “[D]on’t neglect the corrective lenses of God’s living and active word (Hebrews 4:12). You won’t be able to see right without them. Rather, as you look through them today at everything around you may God enlighten the eyes of your heart “that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18–19).”
Bringing Worship Home – Do you have a family worship time? This post demonstrates how one family structures their time of worship that is applicable even for those with young kids at home.
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A Daily Practice

 

A dear friend wrote shared this beautiful quotation regarding Thanksgiving. It seems to me that it rightly captures what the focus of our hearts should be:

Gratitude is virtue at the level of consciousness.It is never solitary but always abides with a twin called humility. Gratitude is the conviction that blessings are derived not deserved, and that privilege is conferred by a Benefactor,not an entitlement original in the nature of things.Christianity is the conviction that the Benefactor has a Name.We believe that suffering is proof that the gift whose loss we mourn was good. We believe that because the Giver Himself also embraced suffering our own loss is temporary. And so we thank Him in all things.It is good to celebrate that resolve one day a year. It is better to practice it every day of our lives.

Pastor Ronnie Stevens

Happy Thanksgiving!

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