To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power[.]

2 Thessalonians 1

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power[.] 2 Thessalonians 1:11

This morning, I focus on John Piper's Solid Joys devotional, where Piper seeks for us to understand both our role and God's role in our resolve or will power to do good works and please God.  While we may believe in the ultimate providence and sovereignty of God in all aspects of our lives, Piper warns us that we should not use this as an excuse to do nothing, thinking that God will do the work and we don't need to do anything.  Piper calls this disobedience. He writes: "[t]he engagement of God’s power never takes the place of the engagement of our will! The power of God in sanctification never makes us passive! The power of God engages itself beneath or behind and within our will, not in place of our will."  He continues by stating "[p]art of the whole process of walking worthy of God’s call is the active engagement of our will in resolving to do righteousness." The bottom line is that we are INVOLVED in resolving...Piper expands on this in a post here.  Key to being involved is a willingness to be used by God - once again building on our "will."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God that accomplished many great things in and through me - I have seen Your hand - thank You God for using me and within, behind and beneath my will!  I am not deserving for how You work in my life and the many blessings that result.  My sins continue - please forgive me for my worry and other sins.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Battlefield of Coasting
Proverbs 16

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. v18

The key sentence for me in this morning's devotional is the following: "If there is one aspect of spiritual battle that remains more hidden than others among Christians, it’s coasting."

Coasting not only implies arrogance as the devotional suggests, but also being passive about what God calls you to do and then not doing it because you simply are not in action about God's call.  Coasting comes into play for me because I procrastinate.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are always in action...acting on behalf of all Your children and calling them to You...dispensing grace, compassion, love, etc.  What a great God You are....You provide the Holy Spirit, Your Word, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the church, all as weapons in my battle against coasting...Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and blessing Jesus as I do worry and procrastinate.  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, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Help me be in action (according to Your will!) and avoid coasting!  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer and relieve her of the side effects of chemo and radiation.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.