Thanksgiving is a moment to express profound, deep, sincere and genuine gratitude to the providence of God for a year’s worth of tender mercies that we have received from the hand of His benevolence. From His care, from His comfort, from His guidance, from His government of our lives, we are to take time to be grateful.
(R.C. Sproul)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Praise God for a holiday on a theme that He commends to all believers, that the world see the shallowness in their giving thanks (to whom do they give thanks?), and that the gospel opens up true thankfulness in our hearts. With that said, let’s get to this week’s links!

• Dan Wallace recently commented on the New Testament manuscripts, and their portrayal of Christ, which contradicts the Muslim view of Jesus. Muslims claim the NT presents Jesus differently than what Christians believe, and Wallace is the expert to give a great response. Fascinating stuff, in case you get the opportunity to speak with a Muslim concerning this claim.
• Tim Challies wrote a timely piece on lateness and the strengths and weaknesses that can come from being late, as well as on time. I’m sure we’ve all had to deal with this sometime in the past, and will probably deal with it in the future. Hopefully, this article will bring needed balance, and thoughtful discussion.
• Fred Butler refutes the objection that the Bible forced women in Old Testament times to marry those who raped them. This is one to bookmark.
• Time magazine came out with an article a couple years ago called, “Are You Mom Enough?” that erupted anew the mommy war in American culture. In response. Desiring God Ministries published articles to their blog from moms who believe in a sovereign God and expressed a biblical worldview in terms of motherhood, parenting and trials in the trenches. This past week, they put out a new book collecting the best articles from that series, entitled, Mom Enough: The Fearless Mother’s Heart and Hope. Click the link to get the book for free on PDF, EPUB or MOBI.
• Jay Adams is the pioneer who started the biblical counseling movement with his rejection of modern psychology and call for pastors to return to counseling their flock with the Word of God. He has maintained a program for pastors and laypeople to be trained online in the area of biblical counseling. For a limited time, he is giving access to his first lecture to the first course, “Introduction to Biblical Counseling.” Don’t miss out on this!
• News concerning the grand jury’s decision to not indict officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown has led to a lot of protests, riots, and spilled ink. Here are some of the most helpful words I’ve come across thus far: Dan Phillips,  Voddie Baucham, Al Mohler, and Jesse Johnson.
• In light of the Thanksgiving holiday, R.C. Sproul, Jr. reminds us that as believers, thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not a holiday.  Doug Wilson focuses on thanking God even when trouble has come our way. Also, be sure to pick up R.C. Sproul’s two free messages on Thanksgiving.

That’s all for this week! We hope you have been able to enjoy Thanksgiving by giving ultimate thanks to the Father for His provision, to the Son for His life, death, and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit for illuminating the Word of God and empowering us to battle sin! See you in the Lord’s house this Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria