But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Mark 6:45-56

But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Mark 6:50b

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 6:45-56.  Excerpts from the commentary for the introduction to the entirety of the text and for the first (of two) division (vv45-52):

• The main idea for the entirety of the text is "Jesus’ miraculous acts of walking on water and healing point to His true identity as the great 'I AM.'"  
• The title for the first division is "Jesus Is the One in Whom We Should Have Faith."  
• "Jesus has just fed 15 or 20 thousand people (Mark 6:30-44). Messianic excitement is at a fever pitch. The crowds want to make Him king now (John 6:14-15). However, it is neither the time nor the means whereby He would receive His kingdom. A throne awaits Him, but there is a cross on the way." 
• In vv45-52 we see Jesus command the disciples to get into the boat and they then find themselves in rough seas.  The commentary shares: "Jesus may indeed send us into trouble and difficulty but with a redemptive purpose. There our understanding of His providence and power is increased. There our faith and dependence on Him and Him alone grow. His plans are not always easy or what we want, but they are always best. Believe! Don’t doubt." 
• RE: v46 where Jesus prays: "[p]rayer for Jesus was intense. It was war. John Piper well says, “Until you believe that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for” (“Prayer”). Jesus knew this better than any of us. He sought His Father in the heat of the battle raging about Him. No doubt He prayed for Himself. No doubt He prayed for the crowd for whom He had compassion. And I suspect He prayed for His disciples who were in need of His prayers and His power." 
• Vv48-51 is unpacked by referring us to Exodus 33:18, 20-23 and 1 Kings 19:11 where God reveals His glory to Moses and Elijah. Jesus' response to the disciples fear is the same as what God spoke to Moses in Exodus 3:14 about who He is. 
• V52 shares that the disciples still did not see and understand. Yet the disciples still do not "receive [a] rebuke from their Master, the compassionate Shepherd (Mark 6:34). He knows they still have much to learn and endure. He will not give up on them. Praise God, He did not give up on us in our ignorance and hard-heartedness either!"

Indeed, there are many times throughout our lives when we question who God is, that He exists or that He is at work or working for us - all of which should be without question.  The great news is just as Jesus did not give up on the disciples during their times of doubt, He does not give up on us either - we just need to press on, bringing our cares and concerns to Him.  He hears and responds to our cries. I am drawn to the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:1-20 where even in her struggles she found the power to pray. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God the never stops working for me, and You hear my cries and respond to all of them.  You are SO good.  You also save!  Thank You Jesus for saving me and for Your great patience even as I struggle and doubt.  I am not deserving of how You are so full of grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Mark 5:1-20

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. Mark  5:19-20

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 5:1-20, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary - which offers three divisions for this text. Excerpts from the commentary's third (of three) division (vv14-20): 

• The commentary's title for this division is "Jesus Commissions the Delivered."
• The demon possessed man who has now been healed is emphasized as "a new creation" and we are referred to 2 Corinthians 5:17.
• The reaction of the townspeople is remarked as fear over this rabbi Jesus and His amazing powers and over loss of two thousand pigs. They certainly did not care for the demon possessed man.  This is contrasted with God's grace towards the man.  The commentary shares: "[t]he townspeople may not have cared for the demoniac’s soul, but the Son of God did. Jesus made him a new man. Heaven was glad, but his fellow humans wanted him gone. What a sad commentary on the wickedness and self-centeredness of the human heart void of the grace of God."  
• While the man sought to stay with Jesus, Jesus instead sought for the man to spread the word about what just happened: “[t]ell them of My mercy,” Jesus basically tells the man. “Be My witness; give your testimony. You were lost but now you are saved. You once belonged to Satan, but now you belong to the Son of God.”  We should note that Jesus gave this mission to the man who will now live among those who feared Jesus - they will hear the Truth about Jesus's love, mercy, and compassion for the man and how Jesus seeks to save.  We are referred to Luke 7:47 where the text shares how those who are forgiven much love much.  

We all have a story to tell about how we were forgiven much and saved by Christ.  This should compel us to love Jesus and others as Jesus loves us.  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, what an awesome God that You love me - saving me while still sinning and hostile to You.  You pour out Your mercies ceaselessly and every day for me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor any of the blessings that You pour out for me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

 Zechariah 1:14-17

Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Zechariah 1:16

I continue my study of the last four books of the OT (complete: Zephaniah, Haggai; to complete: Zechariah, Malachi) - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For this morning, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Zechariah 1:14-17, which the commentary outlines as the second of four divisions for the text vv1:7-2:13 (1:7-13, 1:14-17, 1:18-21, 2:1-13).  Here, the commentary emphasizes God's mercy towards His people.  It shares how they were deserving of punishment, which of course was captivity and exile, but the oppression of Israel by neighboring nations greatly angered God (v15), whereas His people's wickedness did not trigger the same level of anger.  As a result, God showed mercy towards Jerusalem and His people - as prophesied in Deuteronomy 30:1-3.  The commentary describes four promises made to Zechariah and Israel from the text:

1. His returned presence: v16a
   
2. Restored stability: v16b
   
3. Rich blessing: v17a
   
4. Renewed favor: v17b
   

The commentary offers encouragement to all who seek comfort: "Whoever you are, wherever you have been, and whatever you have done, God longs to be merciful to you...You can come to the God of the universe, throw yourself at His feet, and He will show you mercy. God extends His mercy to us because of the cross of Jesus Christ. God’s people can count on His overflowing mercy." 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your grace is amazing indeed and Your mercies are new every morning and never cease - thank You Jesus for Your amazing grace and mercies.  I am not deserving...of course not!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Zephaniah 1:18

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. Zephaniah 1:18

I continue my study of Zephaniah using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For today, my study focus is a commentary-assisted review of the seventh division per my commentary: v18.  Excerpts from the commentary:

• Acts 3:1-10 also references how a lame man expecting silver and gold from Peter and John is offered something far greater and more valuable - the gospel and Jesus Christ. Tying this back to Zephaniah, the commentary shares: "In this passage we see a people who have “silver and gold” and who think their wealth secures them happiness and protection. Instead, in spite of their wealth, God’s judgment is coming, and He will take it all away. Unlike the humility of the lame man in Acts 3, these people are drunk on their own self-confidence, and God is no longer satisfied to allow it to continue. Instead of celebrating God’s goodness and their need for Him, these people were ignoring Him, chasing their own satisfaction, and celebrating their self-fulfillment." 
  
• "[W]ealth is no barrier to God’s judgment."
• See also Matthew 6:24 where Jesus shares that "No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money."
• "Sadly, the people of Judah had decided to chase after money, and their god would now fail them, as Zephaniah reminds them in the beginning of verse 18. So now they find themselves guilty of grievous sin, worshipping a god who has failed them and cannot protect them, and soon with nothing to show for it all. Things are very, very dark indeed."
• The commentary ends by sharing how even though God's wrath is harsh and described in such dark terms, God cannot have just mercy but no justice: "God’s justice is one aspect of His character that we often misunderstand. Justice, simply put, means to do what is right. When we learn that God is just, we can be assured that God will always do what is right. Just as a human judge would be soundly condemned (and rightly so) for freeing a convicted murderer, regardless of how much good the murderer has done, so too God would cease to be just if He simply dismissed our sin. God’s justice does not run counter to His love, it runs parallel with His love. This is what makes the cross so majestic. That He condemned His Son to die testifies to God’s justice; that He allowed His Son to die in our place testifies to His grace. The cross is the perfect intersection of justice and grace."
  

God is perfect in His love, grace, mercy and justice.  Rejoice and believe in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are both a merciful and just God, and You are perfect in all that You are and do.  Thank You for giving me peace knowing that You are perfectly both...and that You love and saved me.  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1

But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:13b-14

I return to my study of 1 and 2 Timothy, using DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book video series for these books. Today, I look at 1 Timothy 1:12-16, Part 2.  Excerpts from the video entitled Do Ignorance and Unbelief Deserve Mercy?: 

• Here, Piper zeroes in on how despite Paul "acted ignorantly in unbelief" he received mercy and Piper examines why this is and he states unequivocally up front that this mercy hinges on v16 where Christ's perfect patience is on display.
  
• Piper then seeks to challenge those who might read v13b and think Paul is saying that he received mercy because of his ignorance and unbelief which then might lead some to believe that this ignorance and unbelief causes or makes Paul more deserving of mercy....Piper points to Matthew 13:58 (unbelief does not cause mercy but instead cuts you off from mercy), Romans 11:19-20 (Jews were cut off from Christ because of their unbelief), Romans 2:4-5 (ignorance, hardness of heart stores up wrath), and Romans 10:1-3 (ignorance does not lessen guilt)
  
• Piper then shares how a more appropriate reading (based on Paul's intent) is that Paul received mercy because that is what he needed not because he deserved it
• We ALL need God's mercy! 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me as You saved me and You continue to pour out Your mercy for me every single day...thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such grace and mercy.  My sin continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Jude

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1b-2

I proceed with my study of Jude using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my study consists of a commentary-assisted review of Jude 1-2.  Per the commentary:

Main idea: "Because of the mercy, peace, and love of God shown through Jesus Christ, Christians can rejoice in their status as the Lord’s servants."

Excerpts from the introduction (for the entirety of the book):

• Jude writes "a word of encouragement about “the salvation we share,” [and] is redirected by the Holy Spirit to bring a word of warning, calling all believers “to contend for the faith”".
• "[Jude] will expose the false teachers for who they are, and he will prescribe a plan of attack that allows us to take the fight to these spiritual terrorists. However, he lays the foundation for the battle both at the beginning and at the end of the letter with a word about our security: we are safe in Christ (vv. 1,24)."
  

Divisions for Jude 1-2:

1. Know Who You Are in Christ (1): Jude, like many from Jesus' family, did not believe in Him during Jesus' earthly ministry years; however, the "resurrection changed everything" for Jude. In v1 Jude describes himself first as a "servant of Jesus Christ." We are referred to 1 Corinthians 6:20 where believers are "bought with a price." We are owned and belong to Christ. Also in v1 we are called, and "[h]ere the word means the effectual calling of God that opens the heart to freely respond to the gospel.  In Scripture there are two types of calling. There is a general call (see Matthew 11:28-30), and there is an effectual call (see Romans 8:30).  There is a mysterious wonder in this truth that the sovereign God effectually brings persons to salvation in perfect harmony with their freewill response to the gospel...This is the only place in the Bible where this phrase “loved by God the Father” appears. There is a sense in which God loves all persons indiscriminately as his creatures (John 3:16), but there is also a sense in which God especially loves his children. It is comparable to the difference between the love I have for my friends and that which I have for my wife and sons....Kept: by his work on earth, Jesus obtained my salvation. By his work in heaven, Jesus maintains my salvation. God is preserving fallen angels and apostates for judgment (vv. 6,13). God is preserving you and me for glory!"
   
2. Know What You Have from Christ (2): "[Mercy] is a characteristic of God that moves him to seek a relationship with persons who have no right to be in relationship with him. The word speaks of compassion, loving kindness. It is gracious, undeserved, and unmerited; yet it is not blind, dumb, or ignorant. It is something in God that moves him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves and we do not deserve....God saw us beaten by Satan and left for dead by sin; and he went into action and sent his Son, binding our wounds, healing our souls, and making us his own!...God is the Lord of peace. Jesus is the Mediator of peace. We are the heirs of peace....Jude prays that his readers would see...love from God as ever real and ever increasing toward them....In John 17:23 we are told, amazingly, that as the Father has loved the Son so he has also loved us. In Romans 8:31-39 we are informed that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. And in 1 Corinthians 13:8 Paul reminds us that because love is at the center of who our God is, it will never fail, never end! Jude knows the power of this love, and he wants his readers to know it as well....Because we are his, we have internal security in our hearts, external security in the world, and eternal security in heaven."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who showers me with mercy, peace, and love - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Jude

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1b-2

With my study of 1,2,3 John coming to a close, today I start a study of Jude using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my study consists of an unassisted review of Jude 1-2 which is covered by the first chapter of my commentary (that I will lean on tomorrow). Jude, a brother of James writes to believers to encourage them, wishing them to experience the mercy, peace and love of God.  He is directing these blessings to believers.  Jude seeks not just that they experience these blessings of faith, but that they experience a "multiplication" or as the dictionary defines this word, a "spreading" or a greater amount of these blessings.  Jude wants these believers to have more of these blessings.  If we truly believe in God we should experience an overwhelming abundance of mercy (see Lamentations 3:22-23), peace (see Philippians 4:7), and love (see Ephesians 3:18).  God intends for believers to act in such a way that others see something supernatural in our lives so that others may be drawn to God through us.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You ARE mercy, peace and love and bless me and all believers with these blessings - thank You Jesus.  My cup overflows...I am certainly not deserving of these blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

 Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1

For my daily study, I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional, which today looks at the mystery of mercy, first by looking at David's cry for mercy in Psalm 51:1, which John shares that David reaches back to recall Exodus 34:6-7 as he writes Psalm 51. The text in Exodus emphasizes God's mercy and Piper describes how David did not understand the mystery of God's mercy in how some received it and some did not: 

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty[.] Exodus 34:6-7

Piper shares: "David knew that there were guilty who would not be forgiven. And there were guilty who by some mysterious work of redemption would not be counted as guilty, but would be forgiven. Psalm 51 is his way of laying hold on that mystery of mercy."  Piper wraps the devotion by sharing that believers better understand the mystery of mercy because faith in Christ unlocks this mercy.  Believers hold onto this mercy and be thankful!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are SO good and Your mercies are new every morning - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your mercy - my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.

Lamentations 3

For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. Lamentations 3:31-33.

I continue my study looking at the life of Paul using John Piper's 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul.  Today, I move to chapter twenty-five - Lover of God’s Sovereignty with Tears for the Lost.  Here, John Piper loves and admires Paul for how he understood the complexity of how God is both fully in control over all the details of creation, including the details of our lives, and deeply compassionate for the lost.  First John Piper provides scriptural examples of where Paul describes God's sovereignty, including Romans 9:15-18, 11:36, Ephesians 1:11, and 1 Corinthians 3:6. Piper then moves to show Paul's anguish over the lost, referring us to Romans 9:1-3 and 10:1.  In his anguish, Paul is hopeful because he understands God's sovereignty and power to overcome obstacles to save the lost - Piper emphasizes this hope.  Piper wraps the chapter by pointing us to Lamentations 3:31-33 where he sees "the sovereignty and the compassion of God interwoven in one glorious fabric of justice and mercy*." 

*John Piper. 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are good - full of love and mercy for all, including myself - despite my sin that You have washed away and the patience for my ongoing disobedience as my sin continues.  Thank You Jesus.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

[T]hey shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

2 Chronicles 12

[T]hey shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 2 Chronicles 12:8

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at text in the Old Testament where God shows Solomon's son Rehoboam mercy in bringing a prophet Shemaiah to him to warn him of punishment God was about to deliver for abandoning Him for foreign gods (2 Chronicles 12:1-5). In response to Shemaiah's message, Rehoboam humbled himself and repented of his sins (v6). In turn, God delivered Rehoboam from the hand of his attackers (v7). However, Rehoboam was placed in the service of his attackers (Egypt and its King Shishak - v8), and Piper uses this text to illustrate how God wants us to see how service to Him is not burdensome but joyful and we do it not because God needs anything (He doesn't), but because it is life giving.  Piper shares that [t]he point is plain: serving the enemy and serving God are very different. How so? Serving God is a receiving and a blessing and a joy and a benefit. Serving Shishak is exhausting and depleting and sorrowful. God is a giver. Shishak is a taker." To bolster his point, Piper refers us to Acts 17:25 where Paul is speaking and he is explicit in describing how God does not need anything. Piper also provides Psalm 100:2 where it is written that we are to "[s]erve the Lord with gladness." 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are great and You provide for all of my needs and Your mercies are new every morning.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You provide.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. I maintain my focus Hebrews 4:14-16, as I move on to what the commentary describes as the third division "Boldly Approaching the Throne of Grace," which looks at Hebrews 4:16. The commentary focuses on how this verse builds primarily on the previous verse - v15 where we read how Believers have a Great High Priest - Jesus - who is able to sympathize "with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."  These two attributes of God describe how Jesus is both fully God and fully man (human) - Jesus is both sinless, perfect and holy as God, and at the same as the incarnate Son, He experienced every (text says "in every respect" temptation humanity experiences.  Unfortunately, all of us continue to experience sin and weakness (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8).  The Good News of Jesus of Christ is that we DO have a great High Priest who allows us anytime to approach Him in our time of need.  The commentary refers us to 1 John 1:9, where states this as a promise that God will always be there for us: "[i]f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Approach God boldly and with confidence!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me and who I can approach boldly and with confidence knowing You will be there and will help me in my time of need!  Thank You Jesus.  I am not deserving of such grace and help.  My sin is great and it continues....daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 4:14-16, and my initial unaided observations of this text. Given how the text starts with "since then," it seems that this text is building upon not just the previous chapter but all of Hebrews up to this point.  In chapters 1-3, and even in chapter 4, Jesus is described as better than angels, Moses, Joshua, and the author of Hebrews explains why Jesus is better. We are now exhorted to "hold fast our confession." What is interesting here is that God knows all of our sin, so the confession is not for God's sake but for our own as we need to understand the depth of our sin, and scripture reading and study enables this to happen (per v12-13).  Once we begin (this is a journey) to understand the depth and breadth of our sin, we can begin (also a journey) to understand the depth and breadth of God's grace and love for us.  The text today should be taken as an incredible encouragement because of how Jesus is described as not just our Lord and Savior, but also as the incarnate Son who experienced all (note the words "who in every respect") of how humanity is tempted, giving Him the ability to sympathize with us, while at the same time, He is able to dispense grace and mercy.  We CAN and SHOULD approach Him with confidence to seek and receive grace and mercy, including for our own salvation.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who knows everything about me, yet still loves me and is full of grace and mercy for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such grace and mercy.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1

As I continue my vacation in Maine, I maintain a pause on my studies of both Isaiah and Proverbs, and tonight and throughout my vacation I will use DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotionals - today's focuses on how David claimed hold to God's forgiveness and mercy, yet he was unaware that in His line there would be a path for Him to be "justified" and forgiven for sins through Jesus Christ. Key to understanding of this text in Psalms 51 is that David is seeking God's forgiveness after a colossal sin - adultery with Bathsheba (and subsequently conspiracy to murder her husband).  2 Samuel 12 chronicles how God sent Nathan to David to hold David accountable for this sin.  We all have these moments when we cry to God in the midst of shame and guilt - we have an incredible God who forgives sins. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Your incredible mercies and how they are new every morning - I am not deserving of such mercies.  My sin is great and it continues...every day.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah 6

And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:7

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  On day 13 of my study, I look more closely at the holiness of God and our response, including how are driven into the arms of the Lord based on His amazing grace.  Isaiah 6:3 refers to God's holiness and the study urges us to look elsewhere in scripture where God is depicted as holy.  One such reference is in Leviticus 11:44-45 where in v45, God says:

You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Leviticus 11:45

The study also refers us to Deuteronomy where God discusses what may qualify a king to serve over Israel:

[The king] shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Knowledge of the Lord is key - as I have posted a few days ago.

Knowledge of the Lord reveals our sin and points us back to Him for forgiveness and His mercy.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord You are an awesome God who is Holy and seeks for me to be Holy.  You give me Your Word so that I can know and worship You appropriately - through confession, etc.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of You grace and mercy.  Thank You for Your Word and The Holy Spirit so that I can better understand You Word. I am not deserving of these blessings.  My sins continue...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Romans 9

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.  Romans 9:16

This morning, until I start a new Bible study, I continue using devotionals from John Piper.  Today, the post focuses on how, regardless of the maturity of our faith, all believers are never "above the status of beneficiaries of [God's] mercy. We are always utterly dependent on what we do not deserve." Piper highlights that Jesus came into the world because of His mercy for us:

• Romans 15:9
  
• 1 Peter 1:3  
  
• Hebrews 4:16  
  
• Jude 1:21 
  
• 1 Corinthians 7:25

Piper also refers us to Luke 17 both 5-6 and 7-10: 

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

It is our faith that matters, not our obedience, because it is out of our faith that obedience is brought about (Romans 16:26)...and regardless of our obedience we are all beneficiaries of God's mercy.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You mercy and grace are amazing - I receive every day...all day long.  Thank You Jesus for Your amazing mercy and grace.  I am clearly not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory[.]

Romans 9

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory[.] Romans 9:22-23

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I started chapter thirteen God's Word Has Not Failed, which covers Romans 9:1-29.  My focus today is Romans 9:19-23, which my commentary refers to under the heading Truth 3: God Has the Right of a Potter over His Clay.  In these verses, Paul continues to make the case for the gospel.  He poses several rhetorical questions, including how can we resist God and what standing do we have to question God? He responds by using a reference to Old Testament imagery as found in Jeremiah 18 (see also Isaiah 29, 45) and elsewhere.  God, as the Potter can do as he chooses with us, just as He does with His clay - we are clay in His hands...and we are to remember most importantly v23 in that we exist for God's glory and not for our own.

My commentary describes how Paul skirts the question of human responsibility and instead focuses on the questioner's pride, which Paul knows is a key obstacle to faith. It goes on to state that while we are not "mere lumps of clay, but the analogy is fitting: [God] is free, and he has the right to do with the clay as he pleases.  We are encouraged to see how scripture is clear on this by looking at Psalm 115:3, and at Job 42:1-6, where after God's rebuke, Job submits to God and has a more clear view of who God is and how God reigns. Finally in v22-23, we are reminded to see how God is merciful and He has "endured with much patience" our sin and disobedience and we are to see how God does this so that we can make much of God and glorify Him with our lives as a response.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of patience and mercy for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and how You pour these out for me daily.  My sin of anger, harsh words, etc. continue.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Romans 9

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

This afternoon, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I started chapter thirteen God's Word Has Not Failed, which covers Romans 9:1-29.  My focus today is Romans 9:14-18, which my commentary refers to under the heading Truth 2: God's Ways Are Just and His Salvation Is Merciful.  Yesterday, I discussed in v6-13 how God's word does not fail and how Paul's anguish over unbelieving Jews should be considered as part of God's perfect design and plan. In v14, we see Paul look at injustice and of course because we all sin and are deserving of death (Romans 3:23, 6:23), Paul correctly answers that there is no injustice.   In v15-16, Paul quotes Exodus and explains further by indicating that it is up to God how He is to be compassionate and His ways are perfect. When someone does not receive compassion, it is not that God does not have compassion it is that God has another plan and again a plan that is perfect.  With v17, Paul once again uses Exodus and the example of how God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that God's name "be proclaimed in all the earth." Just as God's Word does not fail, God is just.

My commentary goes further, quoting John Stott: "[t]he wonder is not that some are saved and others not, but that anybody is saved at all.  For we deserve nothing at God's hand but judgement.  If we receive what we deserve (which is judgement), or if we receive what we do not deserve (which is mercy), in neither case is God unjust. We are encouraged to see "election" as a mystery and where we see election we should see mercy. Indeed, God is merciful.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are merciful indeed and I experience Your mercies as new every day - thank You Jesus for the mercy and compassion You have poured out for me.  I am not deserving...by a long shot....I have gossip, anger, worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.

Chapter 8: Pages 108-119, and Exodus 19-20

He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. Joshua 4:24

This morning, I continued John Piper's book Providence (purchased from Amazon Kindle Store) and started Part 2 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence", starting with Section 2 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the History of Israel" - moving to chapter eight "The Law, the Wilderness, and the Conquest of Canaan". Piper starts this chapter by looking at the giving of the law or Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, starting with the first commandment. He writes how the "aim of the first commandment was not only a call for God to be supremely exalted in Israel but for Israel to be supremely satisfied in God." Piper then looks at the tenth commandment and how it relates to the first two as he writes that "covetousness-or wrong [illegitimate] desire is desiring anything in such a way that you lose your contentment in God.  In essence, the first and last of the Ten Commandments demand the same thing" as covetousness becomes idolatry. 

Piper then moves to explain how "the goal of God's providence, now established at the center of his law, is that he be exalted as the greatest treasure in the glad affections of his people-that he be supremely glorified through our being supremely satisfied in him....[b]egrudging obedience does not make God look great."

Piper looks then to how Israel wandered in the wilderness as although they were disobedient, God did not destroy them.  He instead saved them "for the sake of [God's] name."  Piper uses three passages of scripture from Ezekiel as evidence: Ezekiel 20:8-10, 13-14, and 21-22. The use of Ezekiel is important because Piper wants us to see the "connection between God's grace...and his commitment to the glory of his name....God's self-exaltation was the ground of of Israel's undeserved exultation." Israel then conquers Canaan and Piper uses Joshua 4 to show how God once again - as He did with the parting of the Red Sea and - is powerful and mighty (Joshua 4:24).  Deuteronomy 9:4-7 is then used as another example of God's grace "for the sake of his name". Using additional examples from Joshua 22 and 23, as well as from Deuteronomy 33, Piper wraps the chapter by stating "[t]he purpose of God's providence in the conquest of Canaan was to put his power and his name on display in justice and mercy so that this people would be stunned at the freedom and glory of his grace"....and they would "cling to him as their life and serve him forever in a way that makes clear he is an all-satisfying treasure."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who is powerful, just, wise, and full of mercy - I have seen Your hand in my life and in the life of others - thank You Jesus for the many blessings You pour out.  I am not deserving of such blessings.  I sin...daily...including worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Chapter 7: Pages 96-105, and Romans 9

For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Exodus 9:16, Romans 9:17

This morning, I continued John Piper's book Providence (purchased from Amazon Kindle Store) and started Part 2 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence", starting with Section 2 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the History of Israel" - moving to chapter seven "Remembering the Exodus".  Piper kicks off this chapter by recognizing that "in God's providence, the exodus kicks unleashes centuries of joyful, worshiping responses in the history of Israel that reach all the way through the Old Testament and into the New-even into eternity." David does so in 1 Chronicles 17:16 and Psalm 105:42-43. Piper refers to the Psalm 106 as well as this psalm refers to the exodus as not just a wonder of power but also of grace. Piper then states that "our joy and God's glory are not separable goals of God's providence.  They are woven into one goal." In essence, God's people get the salvation (undeservedly) and God gets the reputation.

Piper continues with the witness of the major prophets - citing Isaiah 63:11-14. Jeremiah also lays claim with witness in Jeremiah 32:20-22. According to Piper, we consistently see throughout scripture God's aim "that his people see [God's] glory and worship with gladness."  Moving on, Piper provides another example in Nehemiah 9:9-11, 1000 years after the exodus. As God makes a name for Himself, Piper points out that He does so with power, wisdom, justice, and mercy. 

As God's dispenses this mercy, as He does with the exodus, He does so by God's self-determining will alone - and not by works (Romans 9:16). In Romans 9, Piper writes, Paul makes it clear that Pharaoh is "raised up as the adversary of Israel" to show His power, justice (for Egypt), and mercy (for Israel). Piper's key point is that Paul's "ultimate argument [in Romans 9] for why it is right for God to act in freedom - having mercy on whomever he wills, and hardening whomever he wills is that the ultimate purpose of showing wrath and power is "in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy."

All of this is to say that, summarizing Piper, is that "we would be justified in saying that the ultimate purpose of God in the exodus is that he be glorified".

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of justice and mercy for me - thank You Jesus.  Both are blessings and I am undeserving of such blessings - I know it is by Your free will alone that I experience such blessings. My sin, too many to mention, continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

2 Samuel 12

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” 1 Samuel 12:13-14

I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). This morning, I continue with the story of "David: Giant Problems and Colossal Collapses*".

*Title of lesson five from the Max Lucado study.

The commentary* of day five starts with Max Lucado highlighting how David's sins seemed to appear throughout various periods in his life, and his most glaring sin of sleeping with Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah killed seemed to be a well-kept secret.  Yet as I posted yesterday, God knew.  God then sent Nathan to confront David and to be sure David knew that God was not pleased with David's actions.  God also knew that God would forgive David - although Nathan's story of a stolen sheep elicits strong condemnation (death!) of the rich man in the story, God does not condemn David to such a sentence (1 Samuel 12:13) but instead forgives.  We do see however, that David is still punished harshly and the chapters to follow include further punishment. 

In the meantime, Lucado wants us to examine David's life as a whole and to see the good and the bad and how God identifies David as "a man after [God's] heart" (Acts 13:22). Yes David is sinful and broken but that is our story.  We should see David in ourselves and how David tackled giants in his life by looking backwards in appreciation - how focusing on God allows us to slay giants where focusing on giants makes us stumble.  David stumbled because he lost appreciation for what God did for him.  Remember and praise God for what He has done and keep this front in center for those periods when we need God to tackle future giants...hence the important of a daily personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  

Discuss and comment on this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has forgiven me many times over and You have been full of grace and compassion for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving for Your grace and compassion - I know You died on the cross for me...for MY sin!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a gift - the greatest gift of all time.  My sin continues - this morning I placed my own earthly comfort and desires over my relationship with You - please forgive me.  Help me worship You and make You the #1 priority in my life.  Help me turn from and overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.