As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

 Psalm 42

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 42:1-2

For my daily study, I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional, which today looks at Psalm 42 and how the psalmist is not seeking relief from trial or challenge but instead is seeking God Himself.  John Piper shares "[i]t’s not wrong to want relief, and to pray for it. It is sometimes right to pray for the defeat of enemies. But more important than any of that is God himself.  When we think and feel with God in the Psalms, this is the main result: We come to love God, and we want to see God and be with God and be satisfied in admiring and exulting in God." Piper then explores what is meant in Psalm 42:2 where it asks "when shall I come and appear before God?"  Piper explains how this question can be translated into “[w]hen will I come and see the face of God?"  He points to John 14:9 and 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 where the answer is provided as the face of Christ.  Piper wraps the devotion by charging believers to seek that "the Lord increase [our] hunger and [our] thirst to see the face of God. And may he grant [our] desire, even today, through the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

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 - giving me access to You through Yourself!  Thank You Jesus.  I am not deserving of such love and compassion.  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.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:16

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at how God is proud of believers.  John Piper writes this devotion with a genuine desire to please God with his life and to make Him proud.  He writes how this is possible based on reasons in Hebrews 11, specifically in 11:16 where it is explicit that - referring to those in the hall of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 - God is not ashamed to be called their God. The first reason in the text is that God is proud because he has prepared for them a city.  Piper emphasizes here that God has done something for believers - He has prepared and saved a place for them in Heaven.  The second reason emphasized by Piper how God is proud is because of believers desire - that they desire a better country - Heaven.  We are urged by Piper to desire Heaven more so than anything else - more than anything the world could ever offer.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I am grateful this morning for my salvation - that You have prepared and saved a place in Heaven for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor for the place You are saving for me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and 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.  

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

Pages: 251-260 and Psalm 119

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter sixteen - The Indispensable Place of Prayer in Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Wakening Our Desire for the Word.  Here, Piper seeks to help us understand that the "ongoing miracle of divine teaching, in and through God's written word, is a gift in answer to prayer." Piper wants us to have both prayer and study - he uses Psalm 119 as he points out in this Psalm the the psalmist "prays five times that God would give him understanding:"

• Psalm 119:27
• Psalm 119:34
• Psalm 119:73
• Psalm 119:125
• Psalm 119:169
  

Building on the acronym shared in the previous chapter, Piper shares that prayer "grows out of the admission of our helplessness at the most fundamental level."  He offers us another acronym to help us pray prior to Bible reading: 

• I(ncline): incline our heart
  
• O(pen): open my eyes
  
• U(nite): teach me your ways so that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name
  
• S(atisfy): satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love

Piper urges us to consider prayer as crucial to our Bible reading as it "contains an absolute surrender of yourself to God."  He goes on to say that "[l]oss of interest in the word of God is loss of interest in God."  Piper himself writes how "hundreds of times I have hit a wall in my effort to understand a text.  Often I have had a sense of desperation because I must preach on this text in two days....[he] plead[s] with the Lord to lead [him] into the truth...."

Very good teaching indeed.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and Your Word IS sweet and more valuable than gold - thank You Jesus for giving me desire for You and Your Word.  Please sustain and intensify this desire for You and Your Word. Thank You for how You bless me and sanctify me with Your Word.  I am undeserving.  I worry and I am selfish.  Please forgive me for these and other sins.  Help me overcome and turn from such sin and 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.

If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Consider carefully what you hear, he continued.

Mark 4

If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Consider carefully what you hear, he continued. v23-24

John Piper writes how the Parable of the Sower is a message on hearing. He writes:


But for now the main point is clear and very urgent: "Take heed how you hear!" To the one who has more will be given. Do you have ears to hear? Do you have a new heart?

I'm going to talk very practically next week on how you prepare yourself to hear like this. But this morning I simply want the weight of it to land on us. Hearing is huge. I believe with all my heart that I am called to preach the Word of God. And many of you are called to teach it in various settings. But this text is about another great calling - the calling to hear the Word of God. And it is no small thing. The stakes are very high. There is a hearing that barely gets started and the Word is gone before you get out the door. There is a hearing that lasts until there is a hard time in life, and then one turns from God to other messages. There is a hearing that flourishes until the riches and pleasures of this life choke it off. And there is a hearing that defeats the devil, endures trial, scorns riches and bears fruit unto eternal life. 

Piper quotes: "[o]pen my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law" (Psalm 199:18).

I desire to help others - namely those in my family - to cultivate ears for hearing and desiring the Word of God.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has helped me develop ears to Hear Your Word - thank You Jesus!  Yet I am undeserving of such love and blessing.  I know I have work to do and I daily miss the mark.  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 word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

Jeremiah 6

The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. v10

While I know I can be closer to God and my relationship with Jesus can be better, it's certainly better than it used to be as God has grown in my heart and life significantly - only through the grace of God (see Ephesians 2:8).  We must all get to a place where we find "pleasure" in God's word as it means we find pleasure in God Himself because the Word is God (John 1:1).  

We should all pray that He gives us a deep desire to get to know Him and to find more pleasure in Him and His Word - ALL of us.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You have done much to grow my desire for You and Your Word.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such a God as I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus.  Help me turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  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 Jesus 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.

I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 119

I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. v16

Jesus tells us that "[b]lessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)." It is also written that:

1. We will find God when we seek Him with all of our heart (Jeremiah 29:13).
2. Faith and salvation are through God alone - and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Lord Jesus, please help me deepen my desire for You and my faith.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are indeed a great God and You have deepened my faith and desire for You.  Thank You Jesus.  But I continue to be broken and I want more.  I worry and I want to rid myself of worry.  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 do.  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 spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.”

2 Kings 2

“The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” v15

I see symbolism in Elijah's life that points us to Jesus.

Elijah is taken to heaven but He is not the promised Messiah - Jesus is.

When Elijah dies, Elisha tears his cloak in two. When Jesus dies, the curtain of the temple is torn in two (Matthew 27:51). 

When Elijah dies, others look for Him for three days but they do not find him.  When Jesus dies, he returns in three days and He is seen by many.

When Elijah dies, a double portion of God's spirit rests on Elisha.  When Jesus dies, the Holy Spirit is provided to the disciples at Pentecost and to all of us.

Bottom line: there is significance in Elijah's life and his life is worthy of study as is all of the Bible - but in particular Elijah.

Great commentary on Elijah here.

From this commentary:
"The world today still has its Ahabs and Jezebels. The present age also has its idolatry, though it is more subtle than that of Elijah’s day.

The shrines of pagan worship may not be as visible in a basically Christian-professing society, and there may be very few carved images that people actually worship, yet millions are following after the gods of this world. Today’s idols can be riches, fame, pleasure and the pleasant-sounding fables that occupy the hearts and minds of many who are unwilling and disinterested in learning about God."

The commentary also says this about Elijah:
Elijah is considered one of the most important prophets of the Old Testament. He faithfully carried out God’s mission in the face of danger and hardship. His was a singular voice of “one crying in the wilderness” to rebuke sin in the land and to expose the false prophets and false religions of his day.


Believers such as myself may also, as Elijah does, feel alone and discouraged sharing the Gospel and living as Christ commands us to.  Yet if we earnestly seek Him and cry out to Him as Elijah does (see 1 Kings 19).  

See also post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what an awesome God You are!  You will never leave or forsake us and You always hear and respond to our call.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  I worry.  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 do.  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.

As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

1 Peter 4

As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. v2

We are called to be a light for others to see and to be set apart.

For us to do this, we must renew our minds:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

For us to renew our minds, we must - daily - seek out God in prayer and in study of His Word.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God, full of love, compassion, kindness, patience, etc. for me.  Thank You Jesus.  Yet I am not worth such efforts.  I continue in my sin - please forgive me and help me overcome my sin and turn towards You - daily.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  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.  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.

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. v1-5

Key here in my view are verses 3-5 where Solomon encourages his son - wisely - to seek out insight and understanding and to look for it with great desire as if it is the most valuable of all treasures.  Solomon, in chapter 1, rightly points out that "...fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (verse 7).  

In John 1 it says:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3

God is not only the source of all knowledge and wisdom, He is the source of "all good and perfect things":

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Why would we not hunger after God with Him being so valuable?


Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

My Prayer: Jesus, You are valuable beyond what words can describe.  You HAVE blessed me beyond what earthly riches can provide - thank You Jesus!  I AM blessed and I AM filled.  Yet I am not worth such love and blessing.  I worry, I stress, and I am filled with pride, rage, etc.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do. Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength. Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects of chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

Psalm 50

Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. v14-15

God does not want empty actions, He wants us to truly know, desire, and worship Him.  Verses 8-13 demonstrate this through God's own words that He has no needs for the sacrifices that are part of the ceremonial law.  We are also to be living sacrifices - be who God intends for us.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:22-25

 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God that provides for His children all needs - and everyone is worthy regardless of abilities, circumstances.  You know everything about us, including our sin, yet You chose us anyway, suffering and dieing for us so that we would not be slaves to sin and so we could have eternity in heaven with You.  Awesome!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and blessings.  I continue to worry and fail to display love to others as You show to me.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from such sin and turn towards You instead.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo and radiation.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God? v1-2

God is my best friend, one with whom I cannot live without.  He is my refuge and my strength.  I have been blessed beyond what I deserve through my desire for Him and provision from Him.  I need nothing else...most importantly because I am broken and in need of both forgiveness, guidance, and transformation - to be more like Jesus.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God, full of love, compassion, kindness, patience, etc. for me.  Thank You Jesus. I am not deserving of these blessings or of any of the blessings You pour out for me.  I continue to worry.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome such sin and turn towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me grow in my faith. Give me strength. Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo and radiation.  Please give her a clear mammogram today and a great visit with Dr. Huang.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day.

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

The Games We Play
Romans 8

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[ because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. v5-11

It is amazing how I listening to David Platt's series "Abide" and today's devotion focuses on governing the mind through the Spirit.

I am reminded of Pastor Scott's sermon how we find happiness.   He used the Sermon on the Mount for the series and specifically for this sermon he focused on Matthew 5:6:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You designed us to crave and You alone can fulfill our desires and cravings...You provide for all our needs and You bless us when we come to You.  I have experienced this in my own life - what an awesome God You are. I am not worth all the ways You have blessed me...I continue to battle with fits of rage...please forgive me Jesus.  Thank You for Your grace and patience that You have dispensed already but I need more!  Help me overcome my sin and turn towards You instead.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Strengthen her bone density.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo and radiation.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin, and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.