As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

1 Timothy 1

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 1 Timothy 1:3-4

I continue with my study of 1 and 2 Timothy, using DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book video series for these books. Today, I look at 1 Timothy 1:3–5, Part 2. Excerpts from the video entitled God’s Household Plan for His Church:

• The core focus of the video is the Greek word oikonomia from v4 which translates to stewardship in the ESV translation used by John Piper; it refers to God's stewardship, or the masters plan for the household or church; see also Ephesians 3:8-10 and 1:9-10 where that same Greek word oikonomia appears (translated to plan in ESV)
  
• Paul then defines the aim of the plan in v5 where he exhorts Timothy, in all matters related to the church, to promote God's stewardship by love; in the previous two verses vv3-4, Paul has warned Timothy that false doctrine does not forward the mission of the church; v5 further defines the aim by describing how love "issues from" three things, a "a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."  Scripture elsewhere points to the latter of the three as the root (more basic and fundamental) of the other two; see also Acts 15:9 and 1 Peter 1:22 where the text describes how faith (or obedience to the truth) > pure heart > love.
• Summarizing, Piper reiterates how God's household plan (for the church) and love both come from faith; this relationship between faith and love is then described as the core theme in 1 Timothy and this could be the thesis of the entire book, see also Titus 1:7 for Paul's words regarding qualifications for church elders and pastors as stewards of God's plan must demonstrate key attributes of faith, including "hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught" (faith)

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who gives me faith as a gift - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a gift as I worry and often have anxiety and I know this is sinful.  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. 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 eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27

This morning, I focus on John Piper's Solid Joys devotional, where Piper seeks for us to see how when we struggle, we should consider how God is using our struggle for service to Him. God has us in His everlasting arms and wants to use everything about our experience for His glory and good (see Romans 8:28)- and it is certainly good to help others. Piper writes: "[t]he psalmist said in Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” He does not say it was easy or fun or pleasant. In retrospect, he simply says, “It was good for me.”' 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are at all times good and Your design for my experience in this life is good, even when the times are a struggle, I see Your goodness.  Thank You Jesus for Your goodness.  I am not deserving of Your everlasting love and arms.  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.

And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times....Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

Romans 9

And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times....Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. Psalm 12:6, Proverbs 30:5-6

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I started chapter thirteen God's Word Has Not Failed, which covers Romans 9:1-29.  My focus today is Romans 9:24-29, which my commentary refers to under the heading Truth 4: God's Promises Include Many Gentiles and a Jewish Remnant.  Picking up where he left off in my reading yesterday, where Paul states in v23 that God had a plan to "make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy," stating that this plan included both Jews and Gentiles. Paul quotes Hosea (v25-26) and Isaiah (v27) to make his point. Jonah was also another Old Testament prophet sent to save a Gentile people - Nineveh.  So, Paul continues to make the case how although he is saddened by Jewish unbelievers (v9:2), God's promise for the Jews as a chosen people is fulfilled and God's Word does not fail. Once again, as previously posted, God does not promise to save every Jew - only a remnant (v27) and it was always part of God's plan to save from among every nation - Jews and Gentiles alike. Also, the key takeaway is that salvation is not due to birth, ethnicity, or to anything you do - it relies on grace alone. 

As my commentary reflects back on chapter 9 as a whole, it provides six exhortations:

1. share Paul's burdens for unbelievers
2. never doubt God's Word
3. embrace the mystery of God's sovereignty and human responsibility
4. allow the vision of God's sovereignty to increase your faith
5. bow down before God's majesty
6. never get over the wonder of God's saving mercy and grace
   

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are majestic indeed - and again I have seen and continue to see Your glory daily - in my life and in the life of others.  I also see it in creation, etc. You bless me each morning with new mercies and with so much more - I am not deserving of how You bless me.  I worry - that I worry at all is sinful and I worry too much!  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 he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.

 Chapter 12: Pages 158-166, Ephesians 1:4-7

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:4-8

This morning, I continued John Piper's book Providence (purchased from Amazon Kindle Store) and started Part 2 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence", moving to Section 3 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the Design and Enactment of the New Covenant" - moving to chapter twelve "Christ's Foundational Act in Establishing the New Covenant". 

Piper starts by quoting both Luke (Luke 22:20) and Matthew (Matthew 26:28) from the Last Supper to establish that Christs suffering and death on the cross "was the foundational step in enacting the new covenant." He then contrasts the first and second covenant using Hebrews 9:7, 15, 22 and 10:4 to underscore how Jesus "is responsible for putting the second covenant into effect." 

Piper builds on this to state that Christ's death and resurrection is not only the ground for the second covenant but also the goal - quoting Romans 4:25; Piper's description is that He is both the "price" and the "prize". Piper of course extends this to emphasize that "the ultimate goal of God in his saving providence-namely the praise of the glory of his grace-was achieved through the suffering of the Son of God, who died to delivery us from eternal suffering (2 Thessalonians 1:9) and bring us into everlasting enjoyment of his glory (John 17:24)".  We are then encouraged to see "the obvious" that-using Ephesians 1:4-6-God's plan from the beginning was that "God's ultimate purpose in creation and providence was not that his glory be displayed and praised through means that did not involve the suffering of Son.  The cross was not an afterthought.  It was part of the plan from before the foundation of the world (2 Timothy 1:9, Revelation 13:8)."

Finally, Piper writes that "[e]verything else is subordinate to this plan.  Everything else is put in place by God's providence for the sake of this plan.  The display of the glory of God's grace, especially in the suffering of the Beloved, echoing forever in the all-satisfying praises of the redeemed, is the goal of creation and ultimate aim of all God's works for providence". 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are amazing and of course so is Your grace and You are worthy of my ceaseless praise and worship.  Thank You for the rich mercies You pour out for me.  I am not deserving of such love.  I worry and I am lazy among my many sins.  Please forgive me for seeking my own power over yours and not relying on the peace of Christ.  Please forgive me for seeking comfort in the pleasures of this world.  Help me turn from and overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.

Chapter 9: Pages 121-132, Judges 6-7, and 1 Samuel 12

“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 1 Samuel 12:20-22

This morning, I continued John Piper's book Providence (purchased from Amazon Kindle Store) and started Part 2 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence", starting with Section 2 "The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the History of Israel" - moving to chapter eight "The Time of the Judges and Days of Monarchy". Here Piper indicates that during the period of Judges when Israel had no king (end of Joshua's generation), we see "the unstoppable power of sin....Israel spiral[s] down into anarchy during [this] time...and [e]veryone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6, 21:25)." Piper uses Judges 2:16-19 as a key scriptural example of the spiral.

Yet Piper does use one example from this period to show God's "patience and mercy" - Gideon. In Judges 7:2-3, God makes it clear that it is Him who deserves the glory of any victory over the Midianites. Piper points to pride and arrogance and the need for self-exaltation (vs that of God exaltation) as a key issue for Israel at the time. Piper than points out how God's "ultimate goal in the period of the judges...[was] to point Israel beyond their anarchy and pride to the hope of humble, happy worship under the omnipotent, redeeming hand of God." 

Piper then moves beyond the period of the judges to the period of monarchy starting under Saul, David, and then subsequent kings, to describe how God's plan all along was that Israel be led by a king first of course an earthly one, then via the Messiah as the "final and eternal king-the King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16)." Piper describes the strangeness here as "the actual movement to install the first king was an act of rebellion against God, even though God had already prophesied that Israel would have a king....and further describes this strangeness by adding that God had even "warned that having a king would be trouble for Israel."  He uses multiple scriptural examples to illustrate the "God-ordained roots of the reign of man" by looking at Deuteronomy 17:14-20 and 1 Samuel 2:10. 1 Samuel 8:11-18 is used as an example to show how not all of the kings are going to be "as circumspect as Deuteronomy required." Piper uses Samuel's farewell speech in 1 Samuel 12 to continue reverence and love of the Lord in spite of an earthly king because if Israel does not turn away from the Lord, He "will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake."

This kingship "through sin" is then discussed by Piper to "show God's grace....and how every blessing that comes from this kingship is undeserved...is grace."  Piper then describes three great blessings that come from this kingship, including (1) David and the Psalms - and the overarching them of the Psalms is God's praise, (2) Solomon's building of the temple - and the temple exists for God's name - see 2 Chronicles 6, (3) the final kingship of Jesus the Messiah. Piper's description makes it clear that there is no disconnect between the reign of man and the reign of Christ - it is all part of God's plan and providence. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is so full of grace for me - time and time again, I sin, yet You forgive me, restore me, and even bless me.  I am so undeserving!  My sin continues...as it did with Israel, it does for me.  Worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as 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.