“Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Deuteronomy 32:46-47

“Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:46-47

Given I have caught up with and am now ahead with where John Piper is in recording his videos on 1 and 2 Timothy for DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book series, this morning I lean on the Solid Joys daily devotion, which today explores how believers must hang on to the Word of God as a matter of life and death.  

Excerpts from the video:

• Our physical life depends on the Word of God; see also Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 11:3, 1:3
• Our spiritual life begins by the Word of God; see also James 1:18, 1 Peter 1:23
• We go on living and are sustained by the Word of God Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3
• "So our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the word of God. How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the life-giving power of the word of God! Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! The foundation of all joy is life. Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — our creation and our preservation."   

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, indeed, I know that the Word is You and I have the Word that gives me life and sustains me through all things and carries me through to the end when I will meet You face to face - thank You for giving me Your Word and for speaking to me through Your Word.  I am greatly blessed....beyond words.  Thank You.  Yet I am undeserving of such a blessing.  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 the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which asserts - rightly so for believers - that "[t]he word of God is our only hope."  The devotion then states that "[t]he good news of God’s promises and the warnings of his judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies. Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. Neither will cheating, or dressing provocatively, or throwing away my sexual purity, or keeping quiet about dishonesty at work, or divorce, or vengeance. And what rescues me from this deception is the word of God....Be of good cheer in your battle to believe. Because the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, it will penetrate deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone and reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting and loving." Indeed, earlier this week, I posted how, during our time in this life, believers are in a battle for our soul against sin, Satan, and the forces of darkness. Yet this victory is already won (John 19:30) and we have the full armor of God to fight this battle.  Believers should be encouraged and seek God with a hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and who gives me the Word and the Holy Spirit and so much more so that I can know You, love You, and become more like You in my battle with sin. Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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 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 he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Isaiah 6

And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Isaiah 6:9-10

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  Today, I look more closely at Isaiah 6:9-10, which my study refers to as "the most quoted verses from Isaiah in the New Testament." As such, I look more closely at where the New Testament refers to these verses, including:

• Matthew 13:13-17 (Matthew's account of Jesus telling the parable of the sower)
  
• Mark 4:10-12 (Mark's account of Jesus telling the parable of the sower)
• Luke 8:9-10 (Luke's account of Jesus telling the parable of the sower)
• John 12:37-41
• Acts 28:23-29

In particular, using Acts 28:23-29, the study asks us to look closely at how many of the Jewish leaders rejected Paul's teaching and use of Isaiah. A question in my mind is did the Jewish leaders really know their scripture, for if they truly knew that Paul was quoting Isaiah, they perhaps would not have reacted in the way they did.  Instead it appeared they were offended and rejected Paul's preaching and the Good News. I am challenged to avoid a similar mistake which would be to reject teachings of God through ignorance of the Word. I am more motivated than ever to satisfy an ever growing "hunger and thirst for righteousness."

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father - thank You for Your Word.  Through study of Your Word, I see my own sin and I can see how You are molding me into more of Your image - I know You are not done yet but thank You for the sanctification process!  I am blessed!  Yet I am not deserving of this blessing, nor any of the blessings You pour out for me.  My sin of worry and other sins continue.  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 in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:16-17

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I moved on with a review of Romans 1:16-17. Here, Paul clearly states his view that the gospel is God and is the power of God.  It saves, provides the basis of faith for believers, and it reveals God's character and nature.  It also transforms lives and is the basis for sanctification so widely discussed in the book I just completed - John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring God's Glory in Scripture.  My commentary refers to these two verses as the "nerve center" of Romans - as Paul goes on to declare regarding righteousness: 

• no one is righteous (1:18-3:20)
• by faith in Christ one is declared righteous (3:21-5:21)
• Christians are slaves to righteousness (6:1-8:39)
  
• and defend God's righteousness (9:1-11:36) 
  
• and provide practical advice on righteous living (12:1-15:13)  

Just as Paul writes that he is "not ashamed of the gospel", my commentary also urges us to be proud of our firm belief in the gospel and its core truths. We may be mocked and shamed, perhaps not physically as Paul and other early believers were (or perhaps not depending on where you are), regardless, we can stand firm.  We must not be ashamed and Jesus warned the disciples and us not be ashamed (see Mark 8:38).  We must see, as my commentary refers to Bird, that the gospel not only describes God's power but it IS God's power. Salvation is referred to as having "already" and "not yet" dimensions - we continue to be sanctified through the gospel through glorification when we are complete and see Jesus perfectly. We are saved "from" spiritual and physical death and "for" rebirth in Christ and eternity in Heaven.  

My commentary notes how Paul references Habakkuk 2:4 in v17, and how "Paul quotes from the Old Testament in Romans more than in all his other letters combined.  There are at least sixty-one direct quotations from fourteen different books...faith is the way in which one stands right before God.  The whole Bible teaches us this."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and how saves me from physical and spiritual death and for new and full life here on earth and for eternity in Heaven - thank You Jesus!  All incredible gifts and of course I am undeserving.  I worry and I have other sins.  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.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy[.]

Pages: 37-53

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy[.] 1 Peter 1:8

This afternoon, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering the Introduction to Part 1: The Ultimate Goal of Reading the Bible and chapter one - Reading the Bible toward God's Ultimate Goal. 

Piper starts by stating that "our ultimate goal in reading the Bible is that God's infinite worth and beauty would be exalted in the everlasting, white-hot worship of the blood-bought bride of Christ from every people, language, tribe, and nation."  Piper extends this by drawing out six implications "that flow from this," including:

1. "the infinite worth and beauty of God are the ultimate value and excellence of the universe;
2. that the supremely authentic and intense worship of God's worth and beauty is the ultimate aim of all his work and word;
3. that we should always read his word in order to see this supreme worth and beauty; 
4. that we should aim in all our seeing and savoring his excellence above all things; 
5. that we should aim to be transformed by this seeing and savoring into the likeness of his beauty, 
6. so that more and more people would be drawn into the worshiping family of God until the bride of Christ-across all centuries and cultures-is complete in number and beauty."

The remainder of chapter one focuses on how from "eternity[-past] to eternity[-future] - in predestination, creation, incarnation, propitiation, sanctification, and consummation-the Bible makes explicit that God's ultimate aim in all things is the revelation and exaltation of his glory."  In the next chapter, Piper explores and discusses implication #2.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and deserving of authentic and intense worship from me and all of Your children. You bless me every day with mercies that abound!  Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not deserving.  I too often allow myself to be distracted by the things of this world - please forgive me!  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 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 why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.....I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people[.]

 Pages: 15-33, Matthew 13, Ephesians 1

 This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.....I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people[.] Matthew 13:13, Ephesians 1:18

Today, inspired by the challenge and reward from the reading of John Piper's Providence, I started another of his books:  Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture.  I began with the Preface and Introduction. 

The premise of the book is that if we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then it follows that "it has supernatural reading."  We are to not just read the Bible naturally (the very best of our natural reading Piper writes), using the error-prone human faculties that God gives us, but we are to read with an ability that is "beyond what is merely human."

Once again, as Piper does with Providence, he does with this book and he draws extensively on scripture. He writes that our natural seeing of God's glory is "not decisive in seeing the glory of God," and Piper uses both Matthew 13:13 and Ephesians 1:18 to demonstrate that God is at work in our understanding of His glory. For God to move in our hearts to more fully see His glory, "God [must] cut away the diamond-hard, idolatrous substitutes for the glory of God that are packed into...our heart." Here Piper points to:

• 2 Corinthians 4:6
• 2 Timothy 2:25
• Philippians 1:29
• Ephesians 2:5
• 1 Peter 1:23
• James 1:18
• Matthew 16:17
• Matthew 11:27
• Ephesians 1:18
• Luke 8:10        
  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus - You are an awesome God and You have given me the gift of faith and Your Word, and You daily reveal Your Word and Your Glory to me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such gifts.  I sin...daily...anger, 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.

But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

Mark 14

But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same. v31

God encourages us to interact with him, perhaps even to metaphorically "wrestle with God", yet at no time should believe that any word from God is not true.  Peter and the others challenge Jesus - allowing their arrogance to blind them from what God is saying and doing in their lives.  Jesus wants Peter to know that He KNOWS Peter will disown Him but that He is still going to die for His and everyone else's sin.

We should understand that the Bible IS God and everyone word and teaching contained within the Bible is true.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 

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 

Scripture is perfect.

My Prayer: Jesus, You are an amazing God and Your Word has brought me closer to You, giving me a better understanding of who You are and I have grown closer to You through Your Word - thank You Jesus for giving me Your Word and so much more!  I am not worth such blessings.  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. 

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. v18

We often feel that God is not there or that God is elusive or far away.  Yet we should know that God never leaves or forsakes us (Matthew 28:20), and He gives us the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and His Word (John 1:1).  

We can also see God in the church and in other believers.

God is real.  He has done great things in my life and He blesses me well beyond what I deserve.  Yet I often fall down, I sin...with worry, anger, etc.  Today's scripture is for me.  I must be daily, more often even, reminded of God's love and His presence.  I am reminded of my dear brother and sister in Christ Terry and Dave Monaghan from Newtonville, MA and how they shared the words of Brother Lawrence.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who has filled my heart and transformed my life - blessing me well beyond what I deserve.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  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 do.  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.  Please 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.

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God.

Nehemiah 8

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God.v8

After the wall was rebuilt, the people assembled and Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God.  As the people worshiped they responded with Amen and there was great joy (v12, v17) "because they now understood the words that had been made known to them".

When we converse with God, reading and studying His Word, and we do so diligently, we will not only find God, we will find what God promises as the Holy Spirit comes upon us - the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors[.] Proverbs 8:34

 

Matthew Henry, in his commentary, states: "[s]pare hours cannot be better spent than in studying the scriptures and conversing with them".

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are great and You have made Yourself known to me, in many ways, and daily through scripture, where You meet me, speak to me, and provide for my daily bread - thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such a God because I worry, about my job and my family.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  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.