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Bits & Pieces (7/31/12)

  • How to Watch the Olympic Games – “You will see in [the Olympics] this week the path of discipline and pain that athletes are willing to pursue for one gold medal and an hour in the glory of human praise. I urge you as you watch to transpose what you see from games into ultimate reality. Above all remember this: what God offers you and pledges to you in the gospel and in the prize and in the crown is 10,000 times more valuable than all the gold . . . .”


  • So You STILL Think God is Merciful – In case you haven’t yet seen this post which made the rounds on Facebook, it is the response of one woman who was in the theater during the shootings in Aurora, Colorado.


  • Why Was Jesus Unintimidated by Pilot? – “This [Pilot’s ability to crucify Jesus]  does not intimidate Jesus because Pilate’s authority over Jesus is subordinate to God’s authority over Pilate. Jesus gets his comfort at this moment not because Pilate’s will is powerless, but because Pilate’s will is guided. Not because Jesus isn’t in the hands of Pilate’s fear, but because Pilate is in the hands of Jesus’s Father.”


  • Parents As Artists – A powerful quotation from John Chrysostom on the role of parents.


  • It Wasn’t Supposed to Be This Way – “[W]hen is it appropriate to say “It wasn’t supposed to be this way?” Whenever something good happens to us! Whenever we are blessed! It wasn’t supposed to be this way – I sinned and rebelled against God – yet look how he has blessed me!”


  • Cacophony in the Kitchen – Gloria Furman writes “Lunchtime with my young children can sometimes resemble a gladiator match. I’m simultaneously the empress who wants to please the crowd and the gladiator fighting for life.” If this reminds you of your house, read on for her important encouragement.
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Bits & Pieces (7/30/12)

  • Prayerlessness – As this post illustrates, a lack of prayer in our lives isn’t just a “personal concern” – we should recognize how God views this state.


  • Adopted for Life: Ten Years Later – This is a beautiful post by Dr. Russell Moore on the adoption of two of his sons, what he has learned since, and the parallels as adopted children of Christ.


  • The Sanctifying Job – “Luther viewed our work as a co-labor of love with a gracious God who provides good gifts for his creation. Are we hungry? Jesus tells us to pray for our daily bread. So we ask our heavenly Father to give us the good gift of food. In the way God ordered his world, his image-bearers co-labor with him to grow the grain, bake the bread, deliver it to the stores, and sell it to hungry people. We receive our daily bread because dozens upon dozens of others were faithful in their labors, embodying answered prayers.”


  • Are You a Saint? – An important reminder about what it means to be a saint.


  • How Literature Can Aid Your Worship – Do you feel that you have to defend your decision to read literature? This post highlights three ways reading good literature can aid in our worship (of course, the book selection is an important part of making these three things reality.)


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