To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Timothy 1

To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Timothy 1:2

I continue with my study of 1 and 2 Timothy. This morning, I lean on DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book video series, watching the video for 1 Timothy 1:1-2, Part 4. Excerpts from the video entitled The Fatherhood of God and the Lordship of Christ:

John Piper begins the video by examining, as the title of the video explicitly implies, 1 Timothy 1:2, and the references to God the (our) Father and Christ Jesus our (the) Lord. Excerpts from the video:

• Piper wants us to experience God as Father, and as Lord, and for this to sink in what this experience truly means to us; these experiences are mediated to/for us through the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the worker in the Holy Trinity (see also Romans 8:14-17, Galatians 4:4-6).  The meaning of being a Christian is that Spirit of Jesus Christ fills our hearts.  See also 1 Corinthians 12:3 where we can't say Jesus is Lord and mean it without truly experiencing it by the Holy Spirit.
• 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; both Father and Lord together in this text and God the Father is both the ultimate source and goal of all things and the Lord Jesus is the person through whom all things come and exist, including ourselves.  See also 1 John 1:1-3.  All things were made from the Father and through Jesus.  Looking at Paul's reference to grace, mercy and peace in v2 of today's text, Piper refers us to Titus 3:4-7.  Grace and mercy are God's goodness provided to someone who is both undeserving and in need of care, and God justifies us, providing peace with Jesus (see also Romans 5:1). 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for helping gain a deeper understanding of Yourself and the Holy Trinity.  Thank You for giving me life and for the Holy Spirit working in my heart.  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 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 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. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 6

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

I continue my study of Ephesians via my participation in a Discipleship (D) Group that is part of my church. For this morning, I look again at Ephesians 6:1-9, but moving on from fatherhood (v4) - which I covered yesterday - to bondservants and masters, which is covered in v5-9. First, we should review this perspective on Biblical history and context on slaves, which states that believers of today should focus less on the word slaves but instead "refocus their mind on the labor of the individual. In the Bible, the intended focus of the word slave is a reference to the living situation of an individual—in no way was it meant to demean a person’s God-given value." With this lens in place, we should now view Ephesians 6:5-9 as talking to the employee-employer relationship. Leaning on this post from John Piper at DesiringGod.com, which looks at earthly authorities across the board and not just the authority in the workplace, we glean that "in the socioeconomic sphere, [we are to] submit to human authorities in a way that turns [our] service of them into the service of Christ[.]"  Serve God always - He is our Master in all ways!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who gives me a job and provides for all of my needs - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of the blessings 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 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 by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 6

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

I continue my study of Ephesians via my participation in a Discipleship (D) Group that is part of my church. For this morning, I look deeper at Ephesians 6:1-9, leaning on commentary from John Piper from this video, which focuses on fatherhood - Paul's subject in v4:

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

First John Piper indicates how Paul is writing specifically to fathers here in v4a, and only excluding mothers because there is deference to the father as the spiritual leader of the household (see Ephesians 5), and because v1-3 speak to how mothers and fathers work together to raise Godly children given Paul's instruction in those verses refer to "parents" and there is an implied agreement between mom and dad.  Piper also refers us to Proverbs 1:8 and 6:20 where scripture reinforces how mothers are of course involved (heavily) - but there is deference from mom to dad as dad takes primary responsibility for raising Godly children.  Piper then moves on to 4b where the focus is how father's must "bring [children] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."  This provision is more important than food or other physical provision.  Piper points to Hebrews 12:5-11 where discipline is emphasized in its importance.  Instruction is broken down as both an affirmative but also with qualification in that if you don't do it - harsh consequences await (a warning), and in this case the consequences are eternal damnation.  Fathers are also urged to know their children and their inclinations, and based on this model Godly behavior and Piper uses Psalm 103:13-14 and Colossians 3:20-21 to help guide fathers - and finally to aim at holiness and joy.  See below for a summary from the video.

 

 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves and who gave me incredible children - I am not deserving of the blessings they are - my sin is great and it continues, particularly in how I have left my children down with respect to raising them according to Your design and intent.  I am grateful for how You have forgiven this and redeemed much of it but there is more to be done - continue to work in my heart and life - please!  Help me turn from my sin, overcome it, and turn towards You. 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 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.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Psalm 127

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Day 144 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues with a study of Solomon's contributions to scripture.  Solomon authored both Psalm 72 and Psalm 127 and this latter psalm is my focus today.  With this psalm, the focus is praise for God as the Giver of all things.  John Piper provides this great video and encourages parents to rest in God as the Builder, Watchman, and Protector of our family, and he further point us to Matthew 11:28-30 as parents often need the rest that only He can provide.

I am grateful for Psalm 127 and for John Piper's encouragement based on this psalm - I needed this today.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for how You build, watch over and protect me as a father and husband.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving for the blessings of marriage and fatherhood You provide.  I often fall down in these roles.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sins in these areas.  Help me overcome and turn from my sins 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. 

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

Proverbs 22

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away. v15

Tuesday, I posted about fatherhood and parenting and once again this is our topic today.  As a parent we are train our children, most importantly in the ways of the Lord.  Part of this training includes discipline:

Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. Proverbs 13:24

 

Discipline is something that all of us must experience, even as adults.  God continues to mold us and we experience discipline, hardship, punishment, etc. as part of God's refining process.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God, full of love, compassion, patience, etc. for me - Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not worthy of such love.  I am broken and I continue to sin.  Please forgive me for my lack of patience for others.  Help me overcome my sin and turn 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 me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You alone as their Lord and Savior.  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.

Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.

The Main Thing
John 5

Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. v19-20

The theme the author pursues is one of living as Christ does by following Him, His desires, and His will.  This only comes when we are rooted in Him and know Him.  Another theme I see that is implied in today's devotion is parenting - the verse in John specifically refers to God the Father and Jesus as the Son but I believe this also refers to earthly fathers and sons (or daughters).  In my role as a father, I must be Jesus to my sons because I am the primary influence in their life.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, I love you and I love what You have done for me - You have modeled Fatherhood for me by being the Heavenly Father that I desire to be for my own sons....how great You are!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love myself...I fail to be bold in my faith...to share the gospel, etc.  Please forgive me Jesus - help me turn from such sin 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.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and You! Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.