The Reconsecration of Man
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“Desecration can take many forms, but it is always characterized by certain things: a delight in dehumanizing those made in God’s image; and an absence of gratitude to God” - Carl Trueman
If We Realize We’re Undeserving, Suddenly the World Comes Alive
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“our hearts overflow with thanks that we who deserve nothing but judgment, death, and Hell are given deliverance, grace, and eternal life. Day after day, God favors us not only with leniency but also with beauties, delights, and privileges we have no right to expect.” - Randy Alcorn
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Worse Than Any Affliction: Why I Refuse to Grumble
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“My flesh is wasting away, and who would blame me if I complained? Certainly not the world — it’s natural for them to expect an old lady in a wheelchair to grumble over her losses. But followers of Jesus Christ should expect more from me. Much more.” - Joni Eareckson Tada
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“Give Thanks to Him; Bless His Name!”
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
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.
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Thanking God as a People; Thanking Him One by One
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Psalm 66… “Think of the many ways in which God has been good to His people. Review His kindnesses to your church. Recall the kindnesses that He has shown specifically to you, and then share these blessings” - David Huffstutler
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Prepare Your Heart for Thanksgiving
I was driving home late at night during these early days of November, and all across the radio dial I heard … Christmas songs!
Now, on the one hand, it is actually quite amazing that secular radio stations take two months out of the year to devote their schedule exclusively to the music of Christmas. And if you enjoy listening to that, and it helps you to think about Christmas this early—while everything around us is still a beautiful shade of burnt orange—go for it!
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Questions to Ask if Church Wasn’t Great This Past Weekend
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“What I want to do in this post, though, is encourage you to reconsider this past weekend’s church events and find some joy and blessing in all that took place—even if church wasn’t great.” - Chuck Lawless
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This Is a Good Time to Be Thankful
I doubt that thankfulness is the first thing most conservative Christians feel these days when they reflect on American culture. There are some good reasons for that! I get it. Much is changing. Much more has already changed but is now becoming evident in more ways.
Many of the changes we’re seeing have to do with aspects of life we’re deeply sensitive about—like sexual ethics, marriage, and family. Visceral reactions are, if unhelpful, at least understandable.
There’s a lot of outrage and fear.
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Without Faith
During my time as a student at Faith Baptist Theological Seminary, I learned that there was an old youth pastors’ joke, built on a misuse of Heb. 11:6. The verse states:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
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Making Thanksgiving Real (Part 2)
Read Part 1.
In our quest to make Thanksgiving real, we left off by thinking about ways to ground our Thanksgiving in Scripture, following the example of the very Pilgrims who left this treasure as a heritage to our entire nation. The next challenge I would offer is to ground our Thanksgiving in history—primarily the history of these same Pilgrims.
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