All fat is the Lord's. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.

Leviticus 3

All fat is the Lord's. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood. Leviticus 3:16-17

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - looking at chapter three - Peace with God - covering 3:1-17, looking specifically at the theme We Submit to the Word of God.  Here, the commentary urges us to look carefully at the details of God's commands for animal sacrifice as part of the Old Testament sacrificial system.  Many, including myself, often ask about these details and the role they play in the Bible - similar details are expressed in the construction of God's temple (first constructed by Solomon in 1 Kings). My commentary offers great insight on this question on several fronts, including how in Leviticus 3 we see details about how certain parts of animal (kidneys, fat, entrails, liver) are to be cut up and offered. Blood is also to be sprinkled on the sides of the altar.  The commentary writes how pagan/Canaanite worship, at the time Leviticus was written, used animal liver as a form of divination called hepatoscopy:  "[t]he one true God told His people not to save that part of the animal--not for divination or for anything else--but to burn the liver on the altar.  They were not looking at a liver to determine the future; they were trusting in God for the future."  God detests such pagan worship. Similarly, the commentary writes how the offering of blood during sacrifice represents "the giving of life" as blood, and how blood carries oxygen to all parts of the body is the key to life.  The commentary summarizes the use of details during animal sacrifice (again, done away with in the New Covenant with Jesus Christ) as important to the extent that God did not want empty, mindless rituals, and the use of such details forced worshipers to slow down to ensure careful following of God's commands.  Such a message should not be lost on believers in Christ and we should not speed through empty rituals as we approach Christ with any aspect of our worship.  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who provides a path for atonement and a path to reconcile with You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You provide this path or for any of the blessings You pour out for me.  I worry, am harsh with others, 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.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

This afternoon, I dropped off my oldest son - Zach (18) - to Hillsdale College.  There is challenge here for both Zach and myself as we both begin new chapters in our lives.  For me, it is a time of loss, not so much in a bad way, but a time when I will miss seeing him daily.  For Zach, I can sense nervousness, anxiety, and excitement - all at once.  As I just finished a book by John Piper - Holy Ambition - I thought about what next to study as the basis for my daily reading and study of God's Word.  I found my recent study of Romans - using the Christ-Centered Exposition series - to be of great value, so I went to review the available commentaries with this series and instantly "stumbled" upon the volume for Leviticus - I felt immediately called to jump into this volume and book, knowing full well that Leviticus by many is recognized as one of the most challenging books of the Bible. I was thinking of what I could say to encourage Zach to jump into challenges and I suppose this is God's way of saying - "this is how".   Zach: don't run from challenge, instead, jump into it. It reminds of me of the time I went bungy jumping - here we go!

For today, I read the Introduction and key takeaways include why it is important to read Leviticus.  My commentary describes five (5) key reasons:

1. Leviticus describes entire religious system of Israel (how they were to worship). Our understanding of worship during ancient Israel's time is important context for understanding of the entire Bible.
2. Leviticus provides the theological foundation for the atoning work of Christ. 
3. Leviticus demonstrates how important holiness is to God - this is the main theme of the book.
   
4. Leviticus is the direct Word of God to Moses, Aaron, and Israel - we should always pay attention to the direct words of God.
5. The New Testament frequently references Leviticus and assumes knowledge of Leviticus. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I know You love me and provide for me - always!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me and provide for me.  I sin...daily...and my sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me for my worry and other sins.  Help me turn from and overcome my sin and turn to 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.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 14-15

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I continued with chapter eighteen Gospel Unity, which covers Romans 14:1-15:13.  My focus today is v15:1-13, which my commentary refers to under the heading "The Lord's Example." In these verses, Paul builds on my discussion yesterday to further the case for church unity. We are encouraged to see how we have "an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves" (v15:1).  I know I too often seek to please myself, whether that is out of being right or to just find comfort by lack of action - convicting indeed! We are again told to build others up (v15:2). We are reminded of Christ's example that He did not seek the easy path of pleasing himself but instead willingly submitted His life for us - see v15:3. Paul tells us that we should review our Old Testament to find hope to follow Christ's example and "to live in such harmony with with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v15:5-6).  We exist to glorify God - remember this! OT is referenced that we should be clear about God's saving plan as it was written in the OT - therefore we should not stand in the way of God's great design and work - unite among believers, weak and strong - we are all brothers and sisters in Christ!  Paul wraps up today's verses by providing scripture from Psalm 18:49, 2 Samuel 22:50, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1-2, and Isaiah 11:10. 

My commentary stress humility - so that we may put the needs of others first.  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, when I have been weak - You have placed other more mature believers in my path to build me up...to strengthen me in my faith - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessing.  My sin continues...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.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Pages: 87-98

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. John 12:37:41

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter five - Reading to See Supreme Worth and Beauty, Part 3. Here, Piper continues with the third of six implications that flow from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible (as listed here); the third of the six implications is "that we should always read his word in order to see this supreme worth and beauty[.]" In this chapter, which is the third of three to explore this specific implication, Piper seeks to make it explicit that "we should always read God's word in order to see his supreme worth and beauty," emphasizing the word "always." He states straight-away that "the relationship between God and all things is such that nothing can be rightly understood apart from its connection with God.  And since God intends for scripture to be rightly understood, therefore, we should always aim to see everything in it in relation to God."

Piper seeks to demonstrate the above statement by pointing to scriptures that state:

• God is the origin and ground of all things (Hebrews 2:10, 1 Chronicles 29:14, Revelation 4:11)
• God owns all things (Psalms 89:11, 24:11)
• God holds all things in being (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17, Acts 17:28)
• God designs the purpose of all things (Proverbs 16:4)
• God governs all things according to his will (Ephesians 1:11, Psalms 119:91)
• God's purpose in creation is to make all things new (Revelation 21:5)
• God appointed his Son heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2)
• God is the end and goal of all things (Hebrews 2:10, Romans 11:36)
  

Similar to my post yesterday, Piper points to 2 Corinthians 4:4, 6 to see how we are to "aim" to read the Bible "to see, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the glory of the Father and the glory of the Son, which are one glory." Piper also uses John 12:36-43 while stating that "wherever the glory of God shines forth in the Bible, it is not just the glory of the Father, but also the glory of the Son, for they are one glory."

Piper wraps up this chapter (as well as the preceding two) by writing that "in all the details of what we find in the Bible-Old Testament and New-the aim of reading is always to see the worth and beauty of God."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is always showing Your glory in Your Word, in creation, and in every moment of every day of my life - You are worth my ceaseless praise and worship and You bless me immeasurably!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You saved me and bless me.  I worry.  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 God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Pages: 75-86, 2 Corinthians 3:6-4:7

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter four - Reading to See Supreme Worth and Beauty, Part 2. Here, Piper continues with the third of six implications that flow from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible (as listed here); the third of the six implications is "that we should always read his word in order to see this supreme worth and beauty[.]" In this chapter, which is the second of three to explore this specific implication, Piper seeks to demonstrate that through the Bible as a whole - both Old Testament and New Testament - God reveals his glory. 

As his key scriptural evidence for such a claim, Piper uses 2 Corinthians 3:6-4:7.  Here Paul writes that the glory of God existed in the books of Moses just as they do today in the entirety of the New Testament, not just in the Gospel books. Within this text, Piper shows how the glory of God is revealed in the Old Testament but it is temporary surpassed by the greater glory of Jesus Christ.  Piper also points to how "Jewish readers in Paul's day were...spiritually blind...[and] Paul compares the Jewish readers of his day to the generation at Mount Sinai," quoting Exodus 34:34-35. Piper continues: "Moses...lifted the veil when he turned to the Lord in the tent of meeting...[and] the point I want to stress is that the occasion for seeing the glory of God-or not seeing it-is the act of reading the Scriptures....[t]he veil, the hardening, kept out the peculiar glory of God."  Piper emphasizes that "not everyone sees the glory of the Lord in the gospel" and he specifically uses 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, pointing out that "the same blindness that kept Israel from the seeing of the peculiar glory of God in the Mosaic covenant is still at work blinding people to the glory of Christ in the gospel."  But just as God hardens hearts, He softens them and reveals his glory as Piper points to 2 Corinthians 4:6 to show God's role in lifting the veil. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus, You are an awesome God and I see Your glory every day, in scriptures, in creation, and elsewhere in my life and in the lives of others.  How magnificent You are!  You bless me immeasurably - thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not deserving for how You bless me.  I worry....Please forgive me Jesus!  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.

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness"[.]

 Old Testament (OT): Genesis 1 - Malachi 4

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness"[.] Exodus 34:5-6

Day 286 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as my commentary* pauses to reflect on the entirety of the Old Testament from the beginning through the teachings of Ezra and Nehemiah.  This pause coincides with what my commentary* refers to as the historical interlude (425 B.C. to 5 B.C.) between the Old Testament and the New Testament - which of course starts withe coming of the promised Messiah Jesus Christ. 

 *Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

With the OT, we see a God who is rich in mercy and compassion, patient, slow to anger and abounding in love, and faithful. 

John Piper offers this great brief explanation for what he believes is the value of the Old Testament for believers. At the end of this explanation, he offers up two benefits of the OT for believers:

"First, meeting God for who he really is so that we can know him and worship him since his character was revealed as truly in the Old Testament as in the New Testament."

"Second, letting the hundreds of promises in the Old Testament wash over you as your blood-bought birthright in Christ Jesus so that every day, you set yourself free from sin by the superior pleasures of the promises of God."

Of the many attributes of God, one of my favorite is how God is slow to anger and abounding in love.  These words are described many times (not with these exact words) and with these exact words 7 times, including one occasion when God spoke to Moses in Exodus 34 as He instructed Moses to carve out new stone tablets for the Ten Commandments.  

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are all knowing, all powerful, perfect, and I know personally how You are slow to anger and abounding in love.  I am not deserving of how You have poured out Your love for me.  My sin continues...worry, etc.  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 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 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

 Ezekiel 12-14

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 14:21-23

Day 227 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues with my study of Ezekiel.  After Ezekiel's vision from God (see yesterday), God directs Ezekiel to portray via enactment both the exile to Babylonia and the anxiety stemming from the destruction of Judah and the resulting desolation and famine (Ezekiel 12:1-20).  God then directs Ezekiel to communicate the certainty and immediacy of the prophecy (Ezekiel 12:21-28). Ezekiel then admonishes false prophets (Ezekiel 13) who proclaim peace and that Judah's exile will be over quickly. Even elders of Israel fall prey to idolatry and Ezekiel admonishes this group as well (Ezekiel 14:1-11). 

Near the end of this morning's reading, my commentary poses a question: "[h]ow many righteous people does it take to save a nation? It has been 1500 years since Abraham asked that same question concerning Sodom and Gomorrah. Surely at this time there are righteous believers among both the captives and their Jerusalem kinsmen who are asking this same question themselves. God’s answer to Ezekiel is that there comes a time when a nation’s sins so completely condemn it that not even a remnant of righteous citizens can stop the destruction inherent in evil. God uses as his illustration of a righteous remnant a trio of faithful believers: Noah, who saw all of mankind (except his own family) destroyed by the great flood; Job, the patient patriarch; and Daniel (possibly the Daniel who is one of the chosen captives serving in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, who will distinguish himself among God’s exiles even more than he already has)."

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Today's reading regarding God's harsh judgement of Judah recalls to mind John Piper's post Why Was God So Harsh in the Old Testament but More Forgiving in the New? In the post, Piper describes the current times as a window of mercy where we should take advantage of God's mercy before God's judgement and wrath unfolds during the End Times.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God full of love and mercy for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your grace - Your amazing grace.  I sin...daily, failing to love You and others as You love me.  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. 

[Ahaziah] followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.

2 Kings 8-10, 2 Chronicles 21-22 

[Ahaziah] followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family. 2 Kings 8:27

 

Day 161 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues with a study of the violent deaths among the houses of both King Ahab (Joram, Jehu, and royal family) of Israel and King Ahaziah (including royal family members) of Judah.

The Bible is filled with stories of how evil and wicked people meet their end.  Believers are not immune to violence and tragedy (see John 16:33, the stories of Stephen, and other martyrs).  We must also understand that tragedy is part of life since The Fall when God promised difficulties for Adam and his descendants.

John Piper provides this very useful post to share his view on why God is "so harsh in the Old Testament but more forgiving in the New".  Piper writes:

"So I think there is an intention that the Old Testament look bleak, sin look horrible, God look just, and that there be much less mercy, proportionate to what you see in the three years of the ministry of Jesus. And that's intentional. This is what God's heart is to the world right now. Come!

And then the New Testament closes with another Old Testament. The Book of Revelation is horrific! So we're in a window right now.

So if people are watching this right now, they should feel, 'I'm in a window of mercy, and I should embrace it so that I can escape the wrath when it comes again'".

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and You have never left me or forsaken me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your love.  I sin...daily.  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.

Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)....Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. Mark 7:18-19, Acts 10:15

Portions of Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy

Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)....Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. Mark 7:18-19, Acts 10:15

Day 61 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on directives from God through Moses (Moses' Laws) for dietary regulations.

God explains the purpose of these laws as follows:

You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.  Leviticus 20:25-26

With God sending His Son to fulfill prophecy and the law (see Matthew 5 and John Piper post here), God did away with the rules of clean and unclean food.  This becomes explicit in both Mark and Acts:

Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) Mark 7:18-19 

Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. Acts 10:15

While written for Thanksgiving, this post at DesiringGod.com also sums it up nicely.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has come to both fulfill the law but also to save me!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your death on the cross and Your compassion and grace.  I sin...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.

It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

Luke 16

It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. v17

This morning, commentary from MacArthur helps shed light on how Jesus is illustrating the importance of both the Old and New Testament teachings.  MacArthur writes: "[Jesus] neither gives or a new law nor modifies the old but rather explains the true significance of the moral content of Moses' Law and the rest of the OT".  MacArthur points to Matthew 5:17-19 and Colossians 2:16-17, and further writes that Jesus fulfills the law in all its aspects, including the moral, ceremonial, and judicial law.  "All [of] the ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic Law are fulfilled in Christ and are no longer to be observed by Christians.  Yet not one jot or tittle is thereby erased; the underlying truths of those scriptures remain"[.]

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

My Prayer: Heavenly Father - what an awesome God You are that You provide Your Word, Your Son, the church, my brothers and sisters in Christ, etc. - all for me.  And You died for me - a gruesome death - that I may have life...and to the full.  Thank You Jesus for setting me free from the sting of sin and death.  I am undeserving of such blessings.  I daily miss the mark.  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.