And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God[.]

Hebrews 7:23-27, 9:24-26, and 10:11-12

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 50-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #26: To Bring the Old Testament Priesthood to an End and Become the Eternal High Priest.  Here, John Piper highlights three sections of text:

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Hebrews 7:23-27

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:24-26

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God[.] Hebrews 10:11-12

Piper starts the devotion by defining "once for all," as "something happened that was decisive. The act accomplished so much that it need never be repeated."  This of course is what Christ accomplished through His death on the cross.  The necessity of such a decisive act hearkens back to the inadequacy of the Old Testament animal sacrifices.  These sacrifices had to be repeated year after year as both a reminder of sin and as a means to seek God's forgiveness.  See also Hebrews 10:3.  Yet these sacrifices were insufficient as Piper describes because "[t]he people knew that when they laid their hands on the head of a bull to transfer their sins to the animal, it would all have to be done again. No animal could suffice to suffer for human sins. Sinful priests had to sacrifice for their own sins. Mortal priests had to be replaced. Bulls and goats had no moral life and could not bear the guilt of man."  See also Hebrews 10:4.  Despite the inadequacy of the OT sacrificial system, Piper shares how God honored this system (He created it) and He knew that "one day he would send a servant qualified to complete what these priests could not perform—to put away sin once for all."  Jesus Christ is both this final Priest and Sacrifice.  Rejoice in Jesus Christ who is the Spotless One and Only True Lamb who sits at the right hand of God interceding for us as our Mediator and Advocate.  Rejoice in Christ who took upon Himself the wrath of God so that we could have forgiveness of sin, freedom in Christ in this life, and eternal life with Him.

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an incredible God who sent His Son to take upon Himself the wrath of God to end and replace the inadequacy of the OT sacrificial system.  Jesus then became the Great High Priest who is at Your right hand continuously interceding for me.  Awesome and thank You God.  I am not deserving of such blessings and of my salvation.  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 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.      

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

John 2:19-21

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. John 2:19-21

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 50-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #25: To Become for Us the Place Where We Meet God.  Here, John Piper shares with believers what I find to be a deeply profound truth - certainly for myself.  What is surprising for me is that up until this morning, I had yet to recognize this truth or that more accurately God had yet to reveal it to me. Using John 2:19-21 as the emphasized text for the devotion today, Piper shares: "[w]hy did Jesus draw the connection between the Jewish temple and his own body? Because he came to take the place of the temple as the meeting place with God. With the coming of the Son of God in human flesh, ritual and worship would undergo profound change. Christ himself would become the final Passover lamb, the final priest, the final temple. They would all pass away, and he would remain." This is both a subtle but very important truth to discern and recognize - believers easily understand how the OT ceremonial law and ritual practices (animal sacrifice, etc.) passed away, and they also understand that we no longer need to go to a specific place to meet with Jesus, but they may not understand how Jesus became the place to meet with God.  The text today is echoed of course elsewhere as Piper points to Matthew 12:6, Colossians 2:9, and 1 Timothy 2:5.  Piper then describes how, unlike other faiths such as Judaism and Islam, "Christianity has no geographical center."  Simply put, it we want to see God we must repent, believe and we will see/experience Christ. Piper concludes the devotion for today but referring us to John 14:9, Matthew 10:40, 1 John 2:23, and John 5:23. Repent, believe in Christ and experience and see God!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God who sent His Son so that I could see and experience You, not just now but for eternity.  Thank You Father God.  I am not deserving of how You sent Your One and Only Son to die for me so that I could experience You in this life and for eternity in Heaven.  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 energy 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, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh[.]

Hebrews 10:19-20

 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh[.] Hebrews 10:19-20

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #24: To Give Us Confident Access to the Holiest Place.  Here, Piper describes how the instructions from God to Moses in Exodus 25:40 - and later referenced in the New Testament in Hebrews 8:5 - for how to build the tabernacle or tent of worship reveal how the Old Testament tabernacle served as a foreshadow for things to come later through Christ. Piper shares: "[j]ust as there were holy rooms in the tabernacle, where the priest repeatedly took the blood of the animal sacrifices and met with God, so there are infinitely superior “holy places,” as it were, in heaven, where Christ entered with his own blood, not repeatedly, but once for all."  See also Hebrews 9:7, 11-12.  The devotion then pivots to the implication, which is that whereas previously (in the Old Testament) only the Jewish priests could enter the most holy place in the tabernacle, now all who believe in Christ can "go with Christ into all the holiest places of God’s presence."  In the OT tabernacle, the curtain protected the most holy place where the priest could enter the presence of the glory of God and upon Christ's death the curtain was torn (Matthew 27:51) allowing believers to enter the most holy places.  We are referred to Hebrews 10:19-20 and Piper summarizes for us: "[w]ithout Christ the holiness of God had to be protected from us. He would have been dishonored, and we would have been consumed because of our sin. But now, because of Christ, we may come near and feast our hearts on the fullness of the flaming beauty of God’s holiness."  Repent, believe and experience and enjoy the fullness of God's glory!

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My Prayer: Father God, thank You for giving me access to Yourself and the most holy places, and for saving a place in Heaven for me where I will meet You face to face.  Incredible!  I am not deserving of course as my sin 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, energy 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. 

[Y]ou also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead[.]...You are not your own, for you were bought with a price....Care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Romans 7:4, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, and Acts 20:28

[Y]ou also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead[.]...You are not your own, for you were bought with a price....Care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Romans 7:4, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Acts 20:28

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #23: So That We Might Belong to Him.  Here, John Piper shares what is likely to be very controversial for those who are not believers and perhaps openly hostile to God; that is that "[t]here is no autonomy in the fallen world. We are governed by sin or governed by God."  This should be non-controversial for for believers, at least those familiar with scripture - for example, Piper refers us to Romans 6:16, 20, 22 on this question.  Piper then elaborates: "[m]ost of the time we are free to do what we want. But we are not free to want what we ought. For that we need a new power based on a divine purchase. The power is God’s." We are then referred to Romans 6:17 and 2 Timothy 2:25-26.  For those that believe, Christ's death on the cross (and subsequent resurrection) gives us (He purchases) our freedom from enslavement to sin. Piper points to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and Acts 20:28 for scriptural support on this. Piper concludes the devotion to share how once we are no longer slave to sin, as believers we become slaves to God which Piper describes as not autonomous or independent but free (and desirous of) to "want what is good." Obedience to the OT law meant rules - instead believers in Christ die to this way of life and live a new life in Christ - see also Romans 7:4. Repent, believe, and experience freedom in Christ!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that gives me true freedom...freedom in You!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how I belong to You and have this freedom.  My sin continues and it is great.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from this 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.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God[.] ...But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

1 Peter 3:18 and Ephesians 2:13

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God[.] ...But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 2:13

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #22: To Bring Us to God.  Here, John Piper highlights what he believes is "crucial" for believers to comprehend: "what is the ultimate good in the good news? It all ends in one thing: God himself. All the words of the gospel lead to him, or they are not gospel."  Piper expands on this by sharing that none of doctrine (salvation, forgiveness, justification, redemption, adoption, etc.) is "good news" without a relationship with God where a believer deeply desires Him and is thoroughly satisfied with Him above anything else.  Piper states: "[t]his is the greatest thing Christ died for. “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18)....Long before Christ came, God revealed himself as the source of full and lasting pleasure. 'You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore' (Psalm 16:11). Then he sent Christ to suffer 'that he might bring us to God.' This means he sent Christ to bring us to the deepest, longest joy a human can have. Hear then the invitation: Turn from 'the fleeting pleasures of sin' (Hebrews 11:25) and come to 'pleasures forevermore.'" Repent, believe in Him and enjoy Christ as Savior and the source of our greatest joy forevermore.

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God and my source of inexpressible joy - there is nothing else I enjoy more than You.  I am undeserving of how full of grace for me that You provide such joy for me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me turn from and overcome 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 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 for 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 if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:10

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #21: To Reconcile Us to God.  Here, John Piper explores the doctrine of reconciliation (see also RC Sproul on this topic).  The Fall (Genesis 3) ushered in the need for reconciliation as the sins in the Garden of Eden brought about consequences of sin - primarily separation from God (see specifically Genesis 3:23-24). In the devotion, Piper first shares that reconciliation requires action from both man and God: "[humanity's] attitude toward God must be changed from defiance to faith. And God’s attitude to [humanity] must be changed from wrath to mercy. But the two are not the same. [All of humanity] need[s] God’s help to change; but God does not need [humanity's help]."  Piper then shares how God does not need to actually change because is it is "in His nature" to love and save us.  Reconciliation occurs as a result of "God’s own planned action to stop being against me and start being for me."  Romans 5:10 is described as key for us to understand because God's action towards us was done both first and while we were still hostile to Him.  Most hostility towards God is described as not "consciously hostile" but instead as "quiet insubordination and indifference."  God's first move towards us in reconciliation is then described by referencing other scripture - specifically Matthew 5:23-24 - where the text shares that believers, if you are to offer a gift at the at the alter, you are first to reconcile with a brother then offer your gift.  Piper concludes the devotion by sharing: "...when we hear the gospel of Christ, we find that God has already done that: He took the steps we could not take to remove his own judgment. He sent Christ to suffer in our place. The decisive reconciliation happened “while we were enemies.” Reconciliation from our side is simply to receive what God has already done, the way we receive an infinitely valuable gift."  Rejoice in the gift of salvation and reconciliation with God!

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My Prayer: Father God, thank You for the reconciliation that allows me to be in fellowship with You.I am not deserving of my salvation nor the reconciliation You provide.  My sin is great and it continues - daily.   Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from 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.

[He] who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father[.]

Galatians 1:4

[He] who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father[.] Galatians 1:4

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #20: To Deliver Us from the Present Evil Age.  Here, John Piper describes how believers, "[u]ntil we die, or until Christ returns to establish his kingdom, we live in 'the present evil age.'"  Ensuring a right understanding of what is meant by "deliver us from the present evil age," Piper points us to John 17:15, sharing that believers are not taken from the world but instead protected and preserved from the power and influences of the evil one.  Expanding on this present evil age, "Satan is given freedom to deceive and destroy" - see also 1 John 5:19 and 2 Corinthians 4:4. Those who are not believers in this present evil age, "live in sync" with Satan - see also Ephesians 2:2.  While many may view this description of non-believers as harsh - we should understand how God views all of humanity as sinful and falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and lacking self-awareness if there is no acknowledgement of this gap between humanity and God (1 John 1:8).  The Good News of the Gospel is shared in 1 John 1:9 where it shares that "[i]f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Piper clarifies how easily it is to be blinded by Satan by idolizing money, sex, hobbies, or any other addictive power that is worshiped over the One True God. The devotion then refers us to 2 Peter 2:19 where scripture describes how these sinful influences enslave a person. Believers recognize these sinful influences as offering only folly while the Truth of the Gospel offers wisdom - see also 1 Corinthians 3:8-19, 1:18.  There is hope in Jesus Christ for those who feel enslaved by Satan - repent and believe!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are Truth and You give me the power power to protect myself during this present evil age.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You arm me to protect myself.  My sin is great and it continues - daily.   Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from 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.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #19: To Give Eternal Life to All Who Believe on Him.  Here, John Piper emphasizes how, from the very beginning (in the Garden of Eden), God designed human life to live forever.  Piper refers us to Solomon's words from Ecclesiastes 3:11 then shares: "[w]e are created in God’s image, and God loves life and lives forever. We were made to live forever. And we will." Yet, at the same time, Piper clarifies how "we" is reserved for believers, while those who treat "God with indifference or contempt" await a far different fate: eternal damnation.  Scripture of course makes this clear as Piper points us to John 3:36 and Matthew 25:46.  Piper then points to Mark 9:47-48 where Jesus warns humanity that the influence of sin is so dangerous in our lives in terms of how it separates us from God that we should treat sin very seriously lest we allow it to carry us into unbelief and subsequent eternal damnation.  Piper then contrasts the eternal damnation to eternal life awaiting believers: "as hell is the worst outcome of this life, so “eternal life” is the best." While eternity in Heaven with Jesus is something believers will not fully comprehend until we die and return to our true home with Him, Piper concludes the devotion by sharing a few remarks about what awaits believers: "all sin and all sadness will be gone. All that is evil and harmful in this fallen creation will be removed. All that is good—all that will bring true and lasting happiness—will be preserved and purified and intensified. We will be changed so that we are capable of dimensions of happiness that were inconceivable to us in this life. “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined . . . God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 [see also Isaiah 64:4]). It is true every moment of life, now and always: For those who trust Christ the best is yet to come. We will see the all-satisfying glory of God."  Rejoice in the gift of faith and eternal life - repent and believe!

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My Prayer: Father God, thank You for giving me life now to the full and for eternity with You.  I am not deserving of how You save and bless.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me 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.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed....That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases."

Isaiah 53:4-5 and Matthew 8:16-17

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed....That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases." Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:16-17

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #18: To Heal Us from Moral and Physical Sickness.  Here, John Piper points to scripture that offers tremendous encouragement for those of us who suffer from emotional and physical ailments (we all do). Piper starts by sharing that "[d]isease and death were not part of God’s original way with the world. They came in with sin as part of God’s judgment on creation."  We are referred to Romans 8:20 where Paul states that "creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope[.]"  Piper expands on Paul's thoughts by sharing: God subjected the world to the futility of physical pain to show the horror of moral evil. This futility included death. “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12). It included all the groaning of disease. And Christians are not excluded: “Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit [that is, those who trust Christ], groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23)."  The devotion then pivots to the hope that Christ provides because God sent His Son - and through Christ's suffering and death on the cross - to defeat disease and death.  Jesus' ministry as a man demonstrated his ability to heal - see Matthew 8:16, Luke 6:19 - and Piper shares how this was done as a preview of what is to come when Jesus returns for the second coming during end times where Revelation 21:4 shares that "he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore."  Piper concludes the devotion by first describing how Christ's death on the cross fulfilled prophecy from Isaiah 53:3 and how Christ's suffering and death purchased "a world without death and disease."  Piper then moves to scripture that describes this new world that will be ushered in when Jesus comes again.  We are referred to 1 Corinthians 15:54, 2 Corinthians 5:4, and Isaiah 65:25. Rejoice in the hope we have in Christ who has already defeated sin, disease and death and believers' rewards await us in Heaven where Christ is saving a place for us!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God that has defeated sin, disease, and death, and I know You are also saving a place in Heaven for me where I will be reunited with many loved ones and brothers and sisters in Christ and there will be no more disease, tears, etc.  Awesome!  Thank You Father God for my salvation, and for all of the blessings that You pour out for me.  I am totally undeserving of course!  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.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #17: To Obtain for Us All Things That Are Good for Us.  Here, John Piper encourages us to see how Romans 8:32 shares how "[t]he two halves of [this verse] have a stupendously important logical connection."  Paul (and Jesus) use rhetorical questions as a means to engage us and to challenge us to go deeper in our understanding of scripture and doctrine.  This is what Paul does here in Romans 8:32.   Piper wants us modify the second half of the verse from a question to a statement so that it more clearly emphasizes Paul's key point, which is that God did the hardest thing of all by giving up His Son, so we can be assured that if we trust in Him we will see how He will give us everything we need in our life as followers of Him - He did the hard part already so everything else is easy.  Piper then ensures we have a right understanding of what is meant by "give us all things."  He refers us to later in the same chapter 8 of Romans where in 8:36 (quoting Psalm 44:22) Paul describes how Christians are not guaranteed an easy life (on the contrary see also John 16:33). We are then referred backwards in Romans 8 to verse 29 where Paul shares that God seeks to conform us to His image - sanctification - and sometimes this process is painful by design.  Piper describes this as "[God giving] us all things that are good for us."  Piper winds down the devotion by expanding on this by referring us to Philippians 4:19 and sharing: "[i]t’s the same as the other biblical promise: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”....This promise is clarified in the preceding words: “In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12-13). Rejoice in how God provides for all things that are good for us!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God that provides for all of my needs, including mercies every morning that never cease, and eternal life with You.  Thank You Father God for my salvation, and for all 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.

[H]ow much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 9:14

[H]ow much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:14

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #16: To Give Us a Clear Conscience.  Here, John Piper explores how Jesus Christ is "the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give the conscience relief in life and peace in death."  The devotion starts by going back to the Garden of Eden where conscience first became an issue for humanity. Piper describes the scene: "as soon as [Adam and Eve] sinned, their conscience was defiled. Their sense of guilt was ruinous. It ruined their relationship with God—they hid from him. It ruined their relation to each other—they blamed. It ruined their peace with themselves—for the first time they saw themselves and felt shame."  Later in scripture, the Old Testament outlines how God provided a path for His people to atone for their sin.  Yet the devotion rightly shares how this did not cleanse the conscience. At best the animal sacrifices foreshadowed or provided a "taste" of things to come.  The New Covenant based on Jesus shed blood and His sacrifice on the cross does provide a path for a clean conscience. Hebrews outlines how Jesus is better (perfect) vs what God provided as a path to Him in the Old Testament - see Hebrews 9:14 specifically on how only Jesus can cleanse the conscience.  As the devotion winds down, it shares: "Jesus said it is what comes out of a person that defiles, not what goes in (Mark 7:15-23). We are defiled by pride and self-pity and bitterness and lust and envy and jealousy and covetousness and apathy and fear—and the actions they breed. These are all “dead works.” They have no spiritual life in them. They don’t come from new life; they come from death, and they lead to death. That is why they make us feel hopeless in our consciences."  Rejoice in how God cleanses our conscience to free ourselves from the sting of sin and death!

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My Prayer:  Father God, what an awesome God You are that You cleanse my conscience and and free me from the sting of sin and death.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save me and pour out blessings 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.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified....[H]e has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him[.]....Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Hebrews 10:14, Colossians 1:22, and 1 Corinthians 5:7

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified....[H]e has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him[.]....Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Hebrews 10:14, Colossians 1:22, 1 Corinthians 5:7

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #15: To Make Us Holy, Blameless, and Perfect.  Here, John Piper explores the doctrine of sanctification.  First, he points out how some of us - myself - included grow impatient with this process and how we "groan" about it (referring to Paul and how he groaned in Philippians 3:12).  Piper then shares how Paul's statement in Philippians is key - "Christ has made me his own":  "All my reaching and yearning and striving is not to belong to Christ (which has already happened), but to complete what is lacking in my likeness to him."  Piper then describes how all believers should understand and be comforted to press on with endurance: "knowing that in the imperfection of our progress we have already been perfected—and that this is owing to the suffering and death of Christ....(see also Hebrews 10:14)....This is amazing! In the same sentence he says we are “being sanctified” and we are already 'perfected.'"  Piper continues: "[t]he joyful encouragement here is that the evidence of our perfection before God is not our experienced perfection, but our experienced progress. The good news is that being on the way is proof that we have arrived."  Piper concludes the devotion by referring us to 1 Corinthians 5:7 where Paul uses the analogy (also used elsewhere in scripture) of leavened bread and how the leaven represents sin and evil and how Christ's death on the cross brings about sanctification which is both being perfect in God's eyes while we are still being perfected.  Rejoice in how God does this!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that is at work in me while You already see me as perfect - amazing grace indeed!  I am not deserving of the grace You pour out for me every day, and of course for the grace You poured out for me on the cross where You shed Your blood and died for me. Thank You Jesus!  Of course I am not deserving of my salvation nor any of the mercies 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.

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many....I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

Mark 14:24 and Jeremiah 32:40

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many....I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. Mark 14:24, Jeremiah 32:40

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #14: To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful.  Here, John Piper provides very insightful commentary on the difference between the Old Covenant (made between God and Israel in the Old Testament and based on the law of Moses in the Pentateuch) and the New Covenant (made for believers in Jesus and secured by the shedding of His blood).  Piper first defines covenant as "a formal, solemn, and binding agreement" between two parties.  He then shares how the Old Covenant was not effective because "it was not accompanied by spiritual transformation."  The New Covenant of course is because it is based on the Spirit and this covenant should be seen as "supremely effective" (of course more so than than the Old) - see also 2 Corinthians 3:6.  OT prophecies pointed to the New Covenant - see Jeremiah 31:31-34.  The New Covenant based on the Spirit is supremely effective because the Spirit is life giving and it brings about heart and life change based on knowledge of and a relationship with Him through study, prayer and other spiritual disciplines.  See also Ephesians 2:5 where Paul talks about how we are made "alive together with Christ."  God not only gives us faith but He also brings about our obedience such that obedience is not seen as a burden - see also Ephesians 2:8, Romans 1:5, and 1 John 5:3.  Piper wraps the devotion by sharing: "When Christ died, he secured for his people not only new hearts but new security. He will not let them turn from him. He will keep them. They will persevere. The blood of the covenant guarantees it."  Isn't it amazing how God works?  Rejoice!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are amazing indeed!  Thank You for not only securing my faithfulness, but also bring about my obedience, and also making it such that I don't see it as a burden....thank You Jesus!  I know there is more work to do as 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 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 if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed....It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

Galatians 5:11 and 6:12

But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed....It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Galatians 5:11, 6:12

My preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge today is complete.  Yet because my preparation convicted me that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history I am going to continue reading DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #13: To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation.  I grew up Jewish and never felt a personal connection to God.  For me, being Jewish meant following rituals that had no meaning.  While it is true I never took the time to know God, what I did see of God did not draw me to Him.  Yet I am grateful that God did not give up on me so here I am today as a believer - thank You Father God that You saved me! The devotion entry for today strikes a chord for me because of Jewish upbringing.  It starts by sharing how "circumcision was a huge controversy in the early church. It had a long, respected, biblical place ever since God commanded it in Genesis 17:10. Christ was a Jew. All his twelve apostles were Jews. Almost all the first converts to Christianity were Jews. The Jewish Scriptures were (and are) part of the Bible of the Christian church. It is not surprising that Jewish rituals would come over into the Christian church."  The question over whether circumcision was required to believe came to a head as Paul preached the Gospel to the Gentiles as described in Acts 10:43 and 13:38-39.   The Jerusalem Council settled the matter as described in Acts 15:1 and 5-12. "The answer was clear. If Paul preached circumcision, “the offense of the cross has been removed” (Galatians 5:11). The cross means freedom from the enslavement of ritual. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1)."  Ultimately, circumcision was not only not required to be saved, but none of the other ritual practices described as the ceremonial law (vs the moral law which remains intact) from the Old Testament were required to be saved.  Faith alone saves (Romans 10:10). 

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My Prayer: Father God, thank You for removing the yoke of works so that I can be saved by faith alone!  I am not deserving of how You softened my heart and saved 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.

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Romans 8:34

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:34

Today is the final day of my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge tomorrow.  My preparation continues to leverage DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #12: To Take Away Our Condemnation.  Here, the devotion opens by sharing how Christ's death offers a great conclusion summarized in Romans 8:1 that there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  The devotion then describes how "faith in Christ unites us to Christ so that his death becomes our death and his perfection becomes our perfection. Christ becomes our punishment (which we don’t have to bear) and our perfection (which we cannot perform)."  The question is then asked who is to condemn and the devotion answers no one because Christ has already died once and for all of humanity (Romans 6:10).  The devotion concludes by exploring the question of whether believers are condemned by the world and it shares that yes (as evidenced by the many martyrs in scripture and beyond), but not successfully.  "Not successfully" is defined and clarified by pointing to scripture in Romans 8:33, 8:35, 8:37, and 31 where it states that God has justified believers, that even in death we cannot be separated from God's love because as Christ conquered sin and death we will also, and that because God is for us, no condemnation from the world will stop us from joining Christ in Heaven.  How encouraging!  As a final word of encouragement and application, the devotion points us to Proverbs 28:1 where in light of how we have no condemnation we are to be bold as a lion!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves me and who saves me from condemnation!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You saved me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me 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.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross....For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous....For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God....and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--

Philippians 2:8, Romans 5:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Philippians 3:9

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross....For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous....For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God....and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--Philippians 2:8, Romans 5:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Philippians 3:9

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge this Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #11: To Complete the Obedience That Becomes Our Righteousness.  Building on reason #10 from yesterday, today's devotion explores how God deems believers in Him righteous and that "[j]ustification is not merely the cancellation of my unrighteousness. It is also the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to me."  Believers are encouraged to understand the implications of Christ's death and how through Christ's death our sin was imputed to Him, and His righteousness was imputed to us. God not only pardoned us through justification, but he also declared us righteous.  The devotion shares: "[t]he demands of God for entrance into eternal life are not merely that our unrighteousness be canceled [justification], but that our perfect righteousness be established [sanctification]."  The more one ponders this, it is hard to fathom how a person is not driven to their knees in worship and submission to Jesus Christ as his or her Savior.  Of course, God is the One who saves and there will continue to be mystery in how some are saved and others are not.  For me, I am grateful that God softened my heart and saved me - I am certainly not deserving.

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me, declaring me not only innocent of my sin, but also perfect in my obedience - I am both justified and sanctified!  Thank You!  I am of course not deserving!  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.   

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God....and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ...For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Romans 5:9, 3:24, and 3:28

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God....and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ...For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 5:9, 3:24, and 3:28

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #10: To Provide the Basis for Our Justification.  The devotion explores how Christ's death vindicates us as not being guilty of our sin - we are justified in God eyes and this of course makes eligible to escape the punishment for our crime of sin.  We still are broken and sinful but in God's eyes we are justified and He declares us to be just or not guilty of our sin. We are referred to Romans 4:5 where is says that God "justifies the ungodly who trust in his grace.  Romans 3:26 and 5:9 describe how God is the justifier of one who has faith in Jesus, and how the shedding of Christ's blood canceled the guilt of our crime of sin. The devotion wraps by sharing how the cancellation of our sins is "essential to justification."  For more on the doctrine of justification - check out this video series from RC Sproul.  

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that has declared my sins to be cancelled - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You died on the cross for me and continue to intercede on my behalf.  Please once again this morning forgive me for sins of commission and omission that I've done - I know I have sin in my life.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from this 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 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.   

 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace[.]...for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians 1:7 and Matthew 26:28

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace[.]...for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:7, Matthew 26:28

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today I read reason #9: For the Forgiveness of Our Sins.  The devotion explores how Christ's sacrifice addressed two problems with sin: 

1. The cycle of sin, shame, and death (Romans 6:23) for sinners had to be broken and the Old Testament sacrificial system could not do what had to be done. As such, Christ shed his blood (once and for all) to forgive believers of sin - all one must do is repent, believe in and follow Christ in a life of obedience to Him (Romans 10:10).  Other than faith and trust in God, no other consideration must be made to God.  The debt we have with Him is settled.  The devotion shares how this provides grace - we get a gift we don't deserve (grace) and we don't get the gift we do deserve (death). See also Acts 10:43, Isaiah 43:25, and Psalm 103:12.
2. The devotion describes all sin as serious - no degree of sin is unserious.  As such while all of humanity is offered grace, a price had to be paid. The devotion shares: "all sin is serious, because it is against God (see chapter 1). He is the one whose glory is injured when we ignore or disobey or blaspheme him. His justice will no more allow him simply to set us free than a human judge can cancel all the debts that criminals owe to society. The injury done to God’s glory by our sin must be repaired so that in justice his glory shines more brightly....That is why Christ suffered and died."

Rejoice in the gift of grace available for you, repent and believe!

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My Prayer: Father God You are an incredible God that died an excruciating death so that I could have forgiveness of sin.  You willingly did what had to be done for not just my salvation but for all of humanity.  You freely offer to those who believe forgiveness of sins and eternal life - what a gift of grace!  Thank You Father God.  I am not deserving of such as gift.  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.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Mark 10:45

 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  This morning I read reason #8: To Become a Ransom for Many.  The devotion first explores Satan's role in the ransom Jesus paid on the cross, and it shares how Satan did not receive this ransom as there was not victory for Satan - only defeat. God was the one who received this ransom.  We are referred to text in Ephesians 5:2 and Hebrews 9:14 as just two examples where it is described how Jesus gave Himself up and offered Himself to God. The devotion then moves to implications for believers and how once Jesus made this offering of Himself, there is no condemnation for believers in Christ (Romans 8:1). The devotion highlights how scripture refers to Christ as the Son of Man over 65 times - suggesting a "ring of mortality" for the incarnate Son of God. This ransom and price was not coerced - it was offered willingly (John 10:18) and we should recognize that the offer for all (1 Timothy 2:5-6) even though not everyone will be ransomed.  Rejoice in the amazing grace Jesus is and pours out for You as He paid the price for yours and everyone else's sin!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves me and who paid the price for my sin - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such an act of mercy and love.  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.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message fro me today and every day.  

And you, who were dead in your trespasses...God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:13-14

And you, who were dead in your trespasses...God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  This morning I read reason #7: To Cancel the Legal Demands of the Law Against Us.  While scripture does not specifically mention the number of commands in the Old Testament law, it is estimated this number to be 613, contained in the Pentateuch.  As someone who was raised Jewish, I never felt a personal relationship to God, something I definitely feel with Jesus Christ.  For me, being Jewish represented more of a cold and distant reality, which the Old Testament law amounts to when you consider the sheer volume of commands.  As a Christian, I am keenly aware of how no amount self-driven obedience will bring about my salvation - this is purely a gift and an undeserved one. The devotion starts by sharing how it is "a folly it is to think that our good deeds may one day outweigh our bad deeds."  John Piper provides two reasons: (1) it's not true (see also Romans 14:23, 3:19); (2) God does not save by considering the balance of our good vs bad works - He saves by grace alone. Piper shares: "[t]here is no salvation by balancing the records. There is only salvation by canceling records. The record of our bad deeds (including our defective good deeds), along with the just penalties that each deserves, must be blotted out—not balanced. This is what Christ suffered and died to accomplish."  We are urged to consider Jesus as our ONLY hope and the ONLY way to Jesus is through faith (see John 14:6). 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves me, and who is full of grace and compassion for me...saving me while dead in sin.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such incredible grace, mercy 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 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.

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ...Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her[.] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Romans 5:7-8, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:7

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ...Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her[.]...I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Ephesians 5:2, 25, Galatians 2:20

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. This morning, I read reason #6: To Show His Own Love for Us. We are encouraged to see God's death on the cross personally, because He died for all past, current, and future humanity.  He plans and knows each one of us personally (see Psalm 139:13-16) - that is how we know He died for us personally. Also, Christ died for me while I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8).  The devotion refers us to scripture where it shares how Christ loved the church and died for her and how there is no greater love than when one lays down His life for His friends (see Ephesians 5:25, John 15:13). We are also encouraged to see how Christ gave His life as a ransom for many and we can be assured to be among this many (see also Matthew 20:28, Acts 16:31, Romans 10:13, Acts 10:43, John 1:12, and John 3:16).  As the devotion winds down it shares: "[H]e paid the highest price possible to give me the greatest gift possible."

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My Prayer: Father God, You are truly an incredible God - the One True God who gave Himself up for me personally so that I could have life now in abundance, and for eternity in Heaven. Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and my salvation.  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 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 one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us...."For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life....In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace[.]

Romans 5:7-8, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:7

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us...."For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life....In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace[.] Romans 5:7-8, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:7

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Today in an effort to catch up and read as much as possible as part of my 30MAR preparation, I am going to "triple-down" by reading three entries of the devotional.  These three entries look at the following three reasons why Jesus came to die:

3. To learn obedience and be perfected: The devotion shares that although Christ was divine He was also the incarnate Son of God and took on human form.  Yet even as a man, He was sinless and perfectly obedient, despite how he shared all of the "temptations and appetites and physical weaknesses" experienced by all of humanity. We are then referred to Hebrews 5:8 and 2:10 where the devotion describes how Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered."  The trials and suffering Jesus experienced did not make Him more perfect or obedient, yet it did "gradually fulfill...the perfect righteousness that he had to have in order to save us....If the Son of God had gone from incarnation to the cross without a life of temptation and pain to test his righteousness and his love, he would not be a suitable Savior for fallen man. His suffering not only absorbed the wrath of God. It also fulfilled his true humanity and made him able to call us brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:17)."

4. To achieve His own resurrection from the dead: The commentary shares that "the Bible says he was raised not just after the blood-shedding, but by it." We are referred to Hebrews 13:20.  The devotion continues: Through Christ's death "the righteousness of God was completely vindicated. All that was left to accomplish was the public declaration of God’s endorsement [emphasis added]. This he gave by raising Jesus from the dead....If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his death was a failure, God did not vindicate his sin-bearing achievement, and we are still in our sins."  See also 1 Corinthians 15:17.

5. To show the wealth of God's love and grace for sinners: The devotion describes how believers should view the measure of God's love: first by "the degree of his sacrifice," and second by "the degree of [our] unworthiness." Christ is described as not just our Savior but also as the One who "conquered the Romans, and brought peace and security to Israel....indeed [He is] king of the world (Isaiah 9:6-7)."  This context is important because it further emphasizes the great sacrifice Christ made on the cross: "it becomes clear that the sacrifice the Father and the Son made was indescribably great—even infinite, when you consider the distance between the divine and the human. But God chose to make this sacrifice to save us."  The devotion then shares how God's love increases all the more when we "consider our unworthiness."  We are undeserving of salvation due to our sin and condemned to death (Romans 6:23). God's grace and love is so great for us!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an incredible and awesome God who knows everything that I experience and can not only empathize with my circumstances, but equip me to overcome anything about my circumstances.  You also died and rose so that I am no longer dead in my sins.  Thank You Jesus.  You also died (and rose) as proof of Your love and grace for me.  Thank You Father God and Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and 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.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand....And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Isaiah 53:10, Ephesians 5:2

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand....And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Isaiah 53:10, Ephesians 5:2

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), I march forward in my use of DesiringGod.com's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, which I started reading today.  My hope with this devotional is that I can of course primarily prepare my heart for Holy Week and Easter, but also prepare for worship at the The Gardens and The Lodge on 30MAR. Yesterday's devotional/post shared the first reason why Jesus came to die as He came to absorb the wrath of God - we all sin, and the OT sacrificial system and the obedience to the law as a path to God proved insufficient to ensure God's people remained obedient to Him and free from the sting of sin and the associated consequences. God had to send His Son Jesus to die on the cross.  From the devotional, my reading for today is the second reason why Jesus came to die: to please His Heavenly Father.  The devotion highlights how it was God's idea and plan to send His Son to die on the cross and we are referred to 2 Timothy 1:9, and Isaiah 53:4-6.  This plan was set in motion before the ages began and is well documented to be unfolding in the Old Testament, with Isaiah's Messianic prophecies serving as just one example of many from the Jewish scriptures. God's idea to send His Son - is supported in scripture with many examples, including Isaiah 53:10.  We are then connected to the notion that Jesus willingly died on the cross to please the Father and we are referred to Ephesians 5:2.  We must let this sink in! God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to save us (John 3:16), and Jesus loved the Father (and us) so much that He was willing to die on the cross to please Him AND save us! Rejoice in the love of the Father and the love of the Son!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an incredible awesome God that You gave us Your Son and Jesus that You loved the Father and me to please Him and save me...incredible!  I am not worthy of such acts of love.  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. 
 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"...God put forward [Christ] as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.... In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Galatians 3:13, Romans 3:25, and 1 John 4:10

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"...God put forward [Christ] as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.... In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Galatians 3:13, Romans 3:25, and 1 John 4:10

As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), this morning I reflect on two posts on DesiringGod.com.  The first entitled Join the 40 Day Feast, How to Prepare Ahead for Easter, which explores how believers can truly claim the Lent tradition.  The second is a post on Advent entitled Christmas Is Too Big for One Day, Why We Celebrate Advent.  This second post explores, as the title suggests, why we celebrate Advent.  It shares that "the entire storyline of the Bible builds to the climax of the Messiah’s birth in that stable over two thousand years ago...Christmas rightly marks the occasion of the long-awaited birth of the Messiah, but there is so much more to Jesus than the day he was born. This is where Advent comes in. While various ecclesiastical traditions have developed distinctive ways of anticipating Jesus’s birth, the underlying premise of the many Advent traditions is sound: Jesus’s birth did not come in a vacuum. His coming was the culmination of centuries, even millennia, of mounting expectation of the coming Messiah and Savior of humankind. This is no ordinary child. And this is no ordinary birth. This is the coming of God himself in human flesh. This is the most important arrival in the history of the world. This marks the earthly beginnings of the gospel of God’s in-person rescue of his people from sin, suffering, destruction, and death. And this is far too glorious to contain to only one day’s celebration."  I agree with the sentiments of this post and based on my reflections thus far (see initial reflection yesterday) on Easter, a similar argument can be made regarding Easter and I would also agree with the sentiments of the post referenced yesterday how Holy Week is "the important week in the history of the world."  As such, I believe it is appropriate to celebrate Lent as a practice for Holy Week and Easter, which leads me to the second post Join the 40 Day Feast....  Here, you can find a link to a 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, which I started reading today.  My hope with this devotional is that I can of course primarily prepare my heart for Holy Week and Easter, but also prepare for worship at the The Gardens and The Lodge on 30MAR. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who sent His Son to die on the cross...for me and my sin. Thank You Father God and Thank You Jesus for willingly laying down Your life for me.  An incredible and unimaginable gift that I will never truly comprehend until I meet Jesus face to face.  I am of course not deserving of such a gift as 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. 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.