Friday Links Roundup: Manna Edition

When Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, they complained that they had nothing to eat. God gave them food from heaven in the form of a small wafer. When the people saw it, they said, “What is it?” This led to the name of the food being “manna.”

Last night, we saw something fall from the sky and wondered what it was. Okay, so we knew what it was, it just had been some time since we had seen it. Nashville was blanketed with snow! While we didn’t get a lot at our house (1-2 inches), and while it is already almost gone, it was fun to see. The kids loved watching it fall, and they wanted to see it again this morning:

We also enjoyed a special night for another reason last night. A family from Lebanon Road, the Radar’s, had several families over to celebrate the two-year anniversary of their finalization for their adoption of their son, Blake. Having been through an adoption, it is always special to get to celebrate these wonderful occasions.

Just a quick update on my health. I have been to see doctors this week, and have had two tests run. They knew already that I have IBS. Thankfully, all the tests showed was a major spasm that was causing my discomfort for the past 4 weeks. They told me to really be careful with my diet over the next few days, and to try to be as calm as possible, too (thus, no blog posts this week until now!). I’m starting to feel better, and the medicine is helping. I know others who have far more severe problems than I do, but this has been a struggle, since it has lasted for almost a month. I’m thankful to God, though, that it is nothing more serious than it is.

On to the links for this week.

1. Many of you know of the recent article in Newsweek magazine where an editorial tries to justify gay marriage from the Bible. I have seen several responses to this article over the past week, but Steve Higginbothams’ response is the most succinct I have seen. Trust me, this one is worth printing out and passing along. Read “Newsweek or Newsweak?”

2. When we study the Bible, we must understand that we are reading the Word of God, but also the words of God. Though humans wrote it down, the words they penned were chosen by God to be exactly what needed to be said. Wayne Jackson gives us a good, brief overview of this idea in “The Bible: Word of God or Mere Words of Men?”

3. Trey Morgan uses Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s great statement of faith to help us build our faith when times are rough. Enjoy “A ‘God Can Save’ Attitude.”

4. If we are to preach the “whole counsel,” we will have to deal with some topics that are not much fun to present. There will be times when people will not agree with us, and may even become angry. Jim Faughn writes a beautiful reminder entitled, “What About Those Unpleasant Subjects?“

5. When I was a youth minister, we had a monthly newsletter for our group. It was a help to the young people, and the parents truly enjoyed having the calendar updated monthly. Neal Mathis writes of how his group in Henderson, Kentucky, does their youth group newsletter. (Note: if you work with young people, subscribe to Neal’s blog. GREAT ideas here!)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Please continue to pray that I’ll feel “all the way better” as soon as possible.

On another note, please pray for my grandmother. She is doing very poorly in Paducah. She has been “going downhill” for some time, but the last few days have been very bad. Pray for my parents as they try to help and comfort her. Thanks.

If you are near Nashville, come by and see us on Sunday. No matter where you are, make sure you don’t forget the Lord, especially on His day!