Bits & Pieces (7/30/13)

Sinner in the Hand of Angry Saints – “It is a great thing to rejoice in our standing as saints before the throne of God. It is a joyful thing to know that God’s peace with us is not dependent on nor grounded in our obedience to His law. It is, however, a bad thing to forget that though we are in Christ, sin has not yet been completely eradicated from our lives. It is a bad thing to forget that sin is a failure to do what God commands, or to do what He forbids. Let us, as He forgets our sin, forget its curse. But let us confess its presence. And let’s not, due to our truncated means of discourse, embrace a truncated theology.”

How Can We Tell When God is Really at Work – This post looks at four distinguishing marks that Jonathan Edwards identified that indicate God is working.

Weakness Is An Advantage – “God was breaking Elijah as a way of preparing to use him, and he is often at work in the same way in our lives. Someone we trust betrays us; or we lose our job; or we have a sudden decline in health. In all of this, God is at work—removing our idols, those areas of false trust, false joy, and false hope. Because if dependence is the objective, weakness is an advantage.” *(H/T)

The Wedding Vows 20 Years Later – I very much appreciated this heartfelt and honest look what wedding vows mean to one couple as they celebrate their 20th anniversary (and how it differs from when they first uttered those words.) (H/T)

Joy Cuts Through Everything – Dallas Willard defines joy as “a pervasive sense of well-being.” This video explains why.

Spend Your Day With Eternity in Mind – “Every day matters. Every hour matters. So spend it with eternity in mind.”