[We] take every thought captive to obey Christ[.]

Proverbs 10-16

[We] take every thought captive to obey Christ[.] 2 Corinthians 10:5b

As I continue with my study of Proverbs, remaining in chapters 10-16, the next five questions for this week (week 6) from my study workbook focus on God's providence over poverty (injustice, sloth, punishment, mystery - see also Proverbs 13:23, 6:9-11, 28:19, 10:2-3, 13:25, and 22:2), how God works in our mind with sanctification (see also Proverbs 14:15-16, Romans 12:2, and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Hebrews 4:12), how we should be slow to anger (see also Proverbs 14:17, 29, 15:18, 16:32, and 19:11), how God's providential rule should be seen as comforting (vs frustrating) (see also Proverbs 16:1, 3, and 33), and how the New Testament more fully describes wisdom vs what we see in Proverbs (see also Proverbs 10:11, 13:14, 14:27, 16:22, and John 4:1-14, 7:37-39).  I worry quite a bit about Zach and Dustin so the examination today how God's providential rule should be seen as comforting DOES give me comfort - thank You Jesus!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who reigns over all details of my life - I see the good in Your reign.  Thank You Jesus for how You reign and for the sanctification process and renewing of my mind that allows me to see You at work.  I am not deserving of this or any other blessing You pour out for me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Leviticus 19-20

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter seventeen - Holiness and Love - covering Leviticus 19-20, looking specifically at the second theme for the chapter - A Definition from God's Word.  Here, the commentary seeks for us to understand holiness as, quoting Jonathan Edwards, "sweet and ravishingly lovely...[not] a melancholy, morose, sour, and unpleasant thing."  The commentary than moves to explicitly define holiness as "a condition of our hearts created by God, and a way of behaving lived by us."  We must first understand that "our natural state [is for us to be] sinners, separated from God, and without hope in this life or the next."  We are then referred to the following verses in scripture:

• Ephesians 2:3, 8 - believers (and all of humanity) are born sinners, then by grace saved (not of our own doing) and given faith
  
• Romans 3:24 - we are justified by His grace (again not of our own doing)
  
• 1 Peter 5:10 - it was God who called us to faith and He restores, confirms, strengthens, and establishes us
• John 17:17 - God sanctifies us by His Truth (Word)

Over the course of a believer's life and journey with Christ, it is God alone who sanctifies us and makes us more like Him - more holy. He alone causes heart and life change/transformation. The commentary then encourages to look at Philippians 2:12-13 and 1 Corinthians 15:10.  In these verses, we see that as God moves in our hearts, we begin to behave and act in ways that are more like Him. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who sanctifies me and creates new life in me, over and over again as You do this in me over the course of my entire life as a believer. Thank You Jesus for giving me a heart of flesh and for the blessings that follow.  I am not deserving of such blessings.  I sin...every day....harshness towards others and 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 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, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Chapter 43: Pages 608-619

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13

This morning, I continued John Piper's book Providence (purchased from Amazon Kindle Store) with Part 3 "The Nature and Extent of Providence", moving to Section 8 "Providence Over Christian Living" - moving to chapter forty-three "Killing Sin and Creating Love-by Faith".

Here, Piper examines how God uses faith to fulfill his transforming or sanctifying promise - the process itself.  Faith is described as producing love (and killing sin) and Galatians 3:5 to demonstrate that "faith has in it the power to sever the root of sin's deceptive promises by saving the superior promises of God." 1 John 5:4 is yet another example of how faith gives believers victory over sin.  Piper describes the process in play: "[i]t is the work of his Spirit, awakening faith in the word of God, that kills sin (Romans 8:13) and creates love (Galatians 5:6)."  In this process, "we act the miracle...and [h]e causes the miracle - see also Philippians 2:12-13 - God is finally and ultimately decisive as "[w]e work, because God is at work in us. We will and do, because God is willing and doing in us". Both Paul and Peter provide additional examples of how this works:

• Galatians 2:20
• Colossians 1:28-29
• 1 Peter 4:11 

Finally, Piper looks at the question, which many believers have, including myself, of why the sanctifying process can be so slow - why does God tolerate sin and imperfection from believers? Piper writes that is not because God cannot perfect us in an instant at conversion - He can.  This process works itself out over time and sometimes slowly because God seeks "for the fullness of his beauty and worth to be magnified in the way his people prefer him over what Satan offers.  God's worth and beauty are magnified in proportion to our preference for them over all that Satan can offer.  God intends for Satan to be defeated in this age not merely by being shown to be weaker than Christ but also by being shown to be less beautiful, less valuable, less desirable, less satisfying....triumphs in warfare with sin would not happen without the warfare." 

Comment and discuss this post here. 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I know You and Your Spirit are at work in me, willing obedience and love for You and others.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving how You work in me.  I fall down and sin every single day.  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 to You Jesus.  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 I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Chapter 41: Pages 586-595

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:27

This morning, I continued John Piper's book Providence (purchased from Amazon Kindle Store) with Part 3 "The Nature and Extent of Providence", moving to Section 8 "Providence Over Christian Living" - moving to chapter forty-one "Blood-Bought Zeal for Good Works".

Here, in my view, perhaps through repetition or time to digest, among the chapters so far where he describes how God has providence over Christian living, Piper writes how through Christ's death on the cross, "the wholehearted pursuit of holiness" is not just promised, but also purchased.  In other words, here Piper describes the "effectiveness of the death of Christ in securing for us the life change demanded from us."  Jeremiah 31:31-34 is used to show how forgiveness of sins is the foundation for the heart change necessary for obedience.  Similarly, Ezekiel 11:19-21, 36:27 express the same process of how God causes sanctification and the resulting obedience.  We are then encouraged to look also at Colossians 1:21-22 and Philippians 1:9-10 to see how we are reconciled to God so that we can achieve our pursuit of holiness. Moreover, this pursuit of holiness is described by Piper as a progressive, imperfect blamelessness in Philippians 2:14-15 - it does not happen in a "big-bang" on our final day.  It's not just Paul who writes about how God equips us for holiness and obedience, but Peter and the author of Hebrews as well.  Piper provides 1 Peter 2:24-25 as an example of how we are ransomed from "futile ways" to live "to righteousness" and Hebrews 9:13-14 of how "dead works" are cleared away for us to pursue "a life of service to the living God."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who has circumcised my heart, gave me a new heart, wrote Your laws on my heart and mind and caused me to pursue holiness - thank You Jesus!  I am blessed...but not deserving. I continue to sin.  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.