Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

 Psalm 116:12-19

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15

I pause my study of Numbers to take a short detour to accommodate my Friday morning men's Bible study where this AM we focused on Psalm 116:12-19.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: In vv1-11, the unidentified psalmist praises God for many of His attributes: how He hears our cries, protects and provides refuge during times of struggle, He is gracious, righteous, and merciful, He preserves and saves, He offers rest, He provides bountifully, and how He saves - eternally.  V15 and the preceding v13 require careful thought and upon reflection my read is that God sees us as precious - even in death - as this points to the coming Messiah Jesus Christ who is saving a place for us in Heaven (see John 14:2-3).   
• What do we learn from the text about people?: For those that believe in Him and know the attributes described by the psalmist, it is a natural response to worship and praise Him.  We will not only praise Him, we will do so publicly (vv14, 18, 19).  We will serve Him (v16).  We will thank Him and call on Him to be in fellowship with Him (v17). 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Claim the promise that God is good and He saves!  Follow the example of the psalmist who praises and worships His name.  Proclaim God's great name publicly for all the world to hear!  

Comment and discuss this post

My Prayer: Father God, You ARE an awesome God, worthy of all praise, honor and glory.  You save!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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 he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:35-41

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 4:35-41, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary - which offers six divisions for this text. Excerpts from the commentary's fourth (of six) division (v39): 

• The commentary's title for this division is "Jesus Has Authority over Nature Because He Is God."  
• "God and only God is thrice “omni.” He is omniscient: He knows all things (actual and potential). He is omnipresent: He always exists everywhere. He is omnipotent: He is all-powerful."
• "Jesus’ gracious humility is on display as He does not chasten the disciples for their less-than-charitable summons. In a simple, non-magical statement He rebukes the wind and says to the sea, 'Silence! Be still!'"
• The commentary highlights in the the original Greek, Jesus uses the same word from Mark 1 to rebuke the demons as He does here to rebuke the wind.
• We must understand that only God has such authority - Jesus must be God! 

For readers of scripture today, we can only read about Jesus's death and resurrection, and about the miracles from His ministry.  We must take it as faith the scripture is Truth and inerrant. While we cannot experience the miracles as Jesus's disciples did, we have all seen God's hand in our own lives.  I saw my own mom profess faith and be baptized at 81 years old - she died 3 years later.  My mom was Jewish her whole life and lived 2000 miles away from me - Jesus was at work for sure as He is in all salvations because only He softens hearts and brings people to faith - Ephesians 2:8-9. There is so much more I can say about God's hand in my life and miraculous things He has done in my life.  God is SO good!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves, saves, never leaves or forsakes, etc. Thank You Jesus, but I am not deserving of how You save and how You never stop working for me interceding on my behalf. 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.  

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.

Matthew 6:5

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Matthew 6:5a-b

I continue my study of The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 5: The Sincerity of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• Sincerity is referred to as "the keystone" and as "fundamental" to one's character.  "This is what we demand of all the higher relationships of life. In the lower relationships sincerity is desirable, but in the higher ones it is absolutely indispensable."
• "There is nothing which so takes the life out of us as the discovery that some one whom we have trusted has been other than what he seemed to be.  The very suspicion that some one whose life is close to us is insincere renders us restless and makes the universe seem insecure."
• "And yet how common insincerity is. What a miserable old humbug of a world we are living in, full of trickery and dishonesty and deceit of every kind."
•  "[Jesus] is a man incapable of a lie. Nothing was so abhorrent to him as falsehood. No other people so stirred his wrath as men who pretended to be what they were not. The most odious word upon his lips was the word 'hypocrite'."
  
•  "It was the sincerity of Jesus which drove him into deadly conflict with the hypocrites. A hypocrite and Jesus cannot live together."
  
• "It was because of Jesus' incorruptible sincerity that we have from his lips such a remarkable outpouring of plain words. You and I do not like plain words. We dare not use them — at least often. We water our words down. We pull the string out of them. We substitute long Latin words for plain, short, Anglo-Saxon words, for by multiplying the syllables we attenuate the meaning. For instance, we say "prevarication' instead of "lie," because falsehood when expressed pompously loses its blackness and grossness. But Jesus would not use words of velvet when words of velvet flattered and deceived. It was his work to help men see themselves as they were. He characterized them by words which accurately described their character."
• "Jesus was incorrigibly sincere, and it was sincerity which drove him to tell men the plain truth."
  
• "There was a strong inducement for him to conceal his extraordinary knowledge. A man makes himself odious by claiming to know more than other men, and by asserting that he can do more than anybody else. It would have been easier for Jesus to adopt the language of the professionally humble people who are always saying that they do not know anything and cannot do anything and do not amount to anything. But Jesus was a man of truth. He could not disguise the fact that his knowledge was unique and that his power was unparalleled. Because he was true he could not hold back the fact that he was the Good Shepherd and the Door, the Bread of Life, and the Light of the World. Nothing but sincerity would ever have driven him to outrage the feelings of his countrymen by assertions so extraordinary. Had he kept silence or pretended to be ignorant on matters on which he possessed full knowledge, he would indeed have been a liar like the very men with whom he was struggling."
  
• "The awful parables of the New Testament are the product of a heart that was uncompromisingly sincere. To speak soft words to men whose feet are hastening down the road to ruin, how was it possible to do it? His very sincerity drove him into language which to our cold hearts seems exaggerated and needlessly abusive. He called the leaders in Jerusalem liars, blind men, fools, serpents, vipers....was it not the duty of Jesus to inform them of their pitiable condition? What else could a sincere friend do?" 
  
•  "It is the calm statement of a horrible fact. The Lord of truth must of necessity use words which accurately characterize the persons who are to be instructed and warned."
  
• Jesus was never accused of falsehoods - instead heresy.  
  
•  "He holds back nothing. What he thinks he says, what he feels he declares. He tones down nothing, he exaggerates nothing. He declares all things as they are. He is not swerved by sin within nor cowed by hostile forces from without. His character is revealed in his speech."
  
• "This, then, is the man we want. A man like this can be a refuge in the time of storm. To him we can flee; when sick at heart, because of the deceptions of the world, we cry out in wretchedness, "Who shall show us any good?" When men disappoint us and friends are few, we can come to one who says, "I am the truth." When we are weary and heavy laden, we can rest our souls upon one who is as certain as the morning and as faithful as the stars."
• "The world is filled with jangling voices and it is hard to know which voice to trust; but his voice has in it something which inspires assurance and quenches uncertainty and doubt." 
  
• "When he says that him that cometh unto him he will in no way cast off, we are certain that if we come we shall be received. When he says, " Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man will hear my voice and open the door I will come in and sup with him and he with me," we are certain of a heavenly guest if we want him. This, then, is why we feel so calm and satisfied with Jesus: he soothes and heals us by being genuine. The heart is always at peace when it rests upon a heart which is sincere."  
  

Indeed very wise words from Mr. Jefferson!  I am left with at least two key takeaways upon reading this chapter of The Character of Jesus.  First, in light of Jesus' sincerity, we can trust in His words and promises - see 2 Corinthians 1:20.  This should give us incredible hope and encouragement to persist, endure and hold steadfast to our faith.  Second, we can trust that God will both reveal our sin to us - by talking plainly to us through the Word and the Holy Spirit - and that He will work in us to make us more like Him as we repent from such sin and turn towards Him.  This latter promise of sanctification, is also one of great hope and encouragement because we should seek to please Him and grow in our obedience to Him - we exist to glorify Him.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are Truth and I can count on You.  You also give me the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to me and to work in me to sanctify me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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.  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.

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17

I continue with my study of 1 and 2 Timothy using DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book video series - picking up with 1 Timothy 1:17, with the video entitled Why Paul Soars into Doxology. 

Excerpts from the video: 

• John Piper proposes that Paul writes such a doxology because he values eternal life (particularly as he has just expressed this value in vv12-16)
• The first four attributes of the doxology are relevant for eternity: sovereign over all time and all eternity, immortal (not subject to decay), invisible (not material), only God (no competitors to defeat Him or bring Him to an end); all these attributes serve Paul's doxology (or short hymn to praise God)
  
• In praise, we ascribe honor (dignity, integrity, greatness, virtue, worth) and glory (greatness, majesty, beauty, worth, radiance of honor)
• Praising will not cease...ever...this is how Paul feels about his salvation and how we should as well. 

We should treasure eternal life and the eternal God underneath this life. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for my eternal life and salvation - of course I am not deserving.  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.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5-10

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

I continue my preparation for leading Sunday school 15SEP, where our focus will be 1 John 1:5-10 and DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book video series for 1 John.  To provide another angle on my preparation, today I lean on the commentary to 1, 2, 3 John from The Christ-Centered Exposition Series, specifically, as it describes this text with the following divisions:

1. The World Must Know What God Says about Himself (v5): 1 John 1:1-4 describe Jesus Christ as "from the beginning" (v1), "the Word of life" (v1), "the eternal life" (v2), the Father's Son (v3), the source of fellowship (v3), and the source of joy (v4). "This is God’s witness concerning His Son and our Savior. This is what He thinks about Jesus Christ. Having met this Savior in repentance and faith, we have a divine assignment that involves the proclamation of a specific gospel with a universal scope (2:2). This message is for the whole world....[This] is an abiding and permanent mandate to get it to the nations, to all 16,500 people groups in the world, with 6,900 still unreached (JoshuaProject.net, as of Feb. 10, 2014)....That “God is light” is an embedded aspect of faithful gospel proclamation. It highlights the contrast between who God is and who we are without Him. The word “light” occurs in some form over 275 times in the Bible (95 times in the New Testament). It is a popular theme throughout the Scriptures....An essential component of faithful gospel proclamation is an understanding of the nature and character of God.  This is a theme that John will raise several times. For example, he teaches us that God is light (1:5), God is love (4:8,16), and God is true (5:20)....[T]he image of light...sometimes it points to God’s holiness, moral purity, and goodness. Other times the focus is on truth and revelation. It is certainly possible John wished to communicate all these ideas here....In the light of God is the fullness of the life of God, and there is no lack of life in Him at all. This is a non-negotiable tenet in faithful theology and faithful gospel proclamation. This is a message we must be passionate to share with the world."    
   
2. The World Must Know What God Says about Sin (vv6-10): "If we say we have fellowship with God—that God is our intimate friend, known in light and life—yet we walk in darkness—in death and all that accompanies spiritual death and darkness (cf. Ephesians 2:1-3)—we lie and do not practice or live out the truth. The verb “walk” is in the present tense and speaks of a continuous and consistent pattern of life. In essence, we say to others, “I know God,” but our beliefs and behavior contradict our words. By denying that Jesus is God in the flesh and downplaying the seriousness of sin, we lie to others about who we are....Those who live in death and darkness do not just lie to others, saying one thing while believing and living another. Eventually they lie to themselves, becoming self-deceived....It should be noted that the apostle John does not deny our need to be seen as sinless. He simply notes that we cannot find it in ourselves. We need an advocate. We need an atonement. We need another....John says...[if you] lie to others (1:6) and lie to yourself (1:8), and soon you will lie about God. In fact you will actually call God a liar....Someone else’s word says we have no sin problem. But God says we are sinners and need a Savior."

Comment and discuss this post. 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are SO good!  You give me the breath of life, amazing grace and mercies every day that never cease and You give me my salvation.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving.  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.

[T]o the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jude

[T]o the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 25

I resume (and conclude) my study of Jude using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book - the final post for Jude will be based on a study of a commentary-assisted review of Jude 25, the final verse of Jude.  Here, we look at attributes of God:

• He is One True God, there are none others like Him
• Through God the Father, we have Jesus Christ - Our Lord and Savior
• He is the King of Kings, He is glorious, He rules and has dominion over all from the beginning of time to the end of time - Alpha and Omega

 The commentary describes two divisions from this one final verse:

1. Believers Are Secure in the Person of God.
   
2. Believers Are Secure in the Praise of God.

God is glorious, it is not given to Him as it is "intrinsic to who He is."  We must acknowledge this glorious God.  We must praise Him for His majesty, power, and authority.  The commentary shares: "[h]uman extinction is not a possibility because he has all things in his hands. Nuclear annihilation is not a possibility because he has all things in his hands. Evangelistic defect is not a possibility because he has all things in his hands. Missionary failure is not a possibility because he has all things in his hands. Losing my salvation is not a possibility because he has all things (including me) in his hands. In the end our God wins! He is glorious and majestic. He has dominion and power. For his glory he will keep me. In his majesty he will keep me. Through his power he will keep me. By his authority he will keep me."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion - thank You Jesus for my eternal security.  What an amazing blessing!  I am not deserving of such blessing.  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 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.

[T]his is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1 John 5

[T]his is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1 John 5:11

I continue my study of 1,2,3 John using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for these books.  Today, my focus is an unassisted review of 1 John 5:6-12.  The text starts by describing Jesus as coming by "water and blood," seemingly associating Jesus' arrival or incarnation with His baptism and crucifixion (v6).  V6 also refers to the Holy Spirit, present at Jesus' baptism and described in v6 as testifying that Jesus was God's Son, with who God is well pleased - the Holy Spirit is identified as the truth in v6 as well.  Vv7-8 describe how three testify - water (baptism), blood (crucifixion), and the Holy Spirit - they all testify to who God is as His Son - agreeing in their testimony.  Many who saw Jesus, including Peter, testify that Jesus is the Messiah, the Promised Deliverer, and the Son of God, but we are encouraged to see in v9 how the testimony of God Himself regarding His Son is more reliable and a greater testimony.  V10 shares how, if we believe in Jesus, we have this same testimony - from God - in us.  If you do not believe in God, you make God a liar, not believing in His testimony.  Core to God's testimony is described in v11.  The text for today wraps with a comparison of believers vs unbelievers - if we have the Son we have life, if not, no life.  See also John 3:16-18. Don't doubt the testimony of God and believe!

Comment and discuss this post.  

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a good, good God and Father - better than any earthly father could ever be.  You are Truth and Life and You have given me victory over sin and death - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and blessings and a gift - the greatest gift of all time.  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.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 Matthew 28

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

For my daily study, I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional, which today looks at three attributes of Christ- which John Piper refers to as "massive peaks in the mountain range of Christ's character: the peak of his power; the peak of his kindness; and the peak of his purposefulness."  Piper uses Jesus's remarks to the disciples from the Great Commission in Matthew 28.  Piper's broad point today is how as humans we are wired to "long to see and know is a Person whose power is unlimited, whose kindness is tender, and whose purpose is single and unflinching."  Of course, no earthly person will ever meet this description.  Only Christ is these things...and so much more!  He is the real deal!  Worship the Risen Christ!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are SO good and You are all powerful, kind beyond description, and single minded - worthy of worship!  Thank You for how You bless in SO many ways.  I am not deserving of how You love and bless 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.     

God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Exodus 3

God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Exodus 3:15

As I continue to be in between studies, having wrapped up my study looking at the life of Paul using John Piper's 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul, I lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional, which today looks at attributes of God based on how He is referred to as Yahweh.  Piper highlights the exchange between God and Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3 to help us better understand who God is.  He then lists 10 attributes of God based on His name Yahweh or "I am":

1. He never had a beginning.
2. God will never end.
3. God is absolute reality. There is no reality before him. There is no reality outside of him unless he wills it and makes it. He is all that was eternally. No space, no universe, no emptiness. Only God.
4. God is utterly independent. 
5. Everything that is not God depends totally on God. 
6. All the universe is by comparison to God as nothing.
7. God is constant.  
8. God is the absolute standard of truth and goodness and beauty.
9. God does whatever he pleases and it is always right and always beautiful and always in accord with truth.
10. God is the most important and most valuable reality and person in the universe.
    

One attribute not discussed in today's devotion is how God is all knowing - omniscient.  This is important for believers because God's knows all about our sin yet He still loves and saves us...He poured out his grace and love for us by going to the cross for us...amazing grace!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who knows everything about me, including my sin, yet loves me enough to die for me.  Amazing....grace.  Thank You Jesus! Of course I am not deserving of such grace...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. 

Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Hebrews 3

Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. Hebrews 3:6

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is initial observations of Hebrews 3:1-6. My bible refers to these verses with the heading "Jesus Greater Than Moses", as these verses contrast Moses to Jesus.  As a starting point, I went to Deuteronomy 34 where, upon Moses' death, scripture offers the following as an epitaph: 

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. Deuteronomy 34:10-12

Hebrews' likely audience was Jewish believers, and this commentary indicates that this audience was "intimately familiar with the Old Testament, particularly The Pentateuch" (first five books of the Bible, including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) - where Moses of course plays a key role. So, while today's believers may wonder why they need to compare Moses to Jesus, an understanding of this book's original audience provides important context.  

For this morning, I zero in on v6 (and how v1-5 build up to this verse) where scripture indicates how Christ is faithful over God's house, which this verse defines as the church, if we remain confident and hopeful in Him.  Let us strive to maintain our confidence and hope in Him!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me and who is full of grace for me, and You are faithful - I know You will never leave or forsake me.  Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness.  I am not deserving of such faithfulness.  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 we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

 Hebrews 2

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is initial observations of Hebrews 2:1-9, which contains three divisions. Hebrews 2:1-9 builds on Hebrews 1 by starting with a focus on who Jesus is and then turning to what Jesus has done - His actions and the implications).  Hebrews 2 looks at Jesus as the author of our salvation and how we should not neglect our salvation (see also Philippians 2:12 for text that exhorts believers to work out their own salvation), as we have no other means but through submission to Jesus to escape eternal damnation (v3).  The message of angels (i.e. Gabriel in Luke 1) was reliable as were the many prophecies of the Messiah declared by Isaiah and others (see .  Believers of today (beyond what was seen during Jesus' days - v4) can also testify of God's work in their own lives.  In v5-9, we, once again (see also Hebrews 1), read how God reigns over all of the universe and its inhabitants and how although we may not see (until we see Him face to face) all of His dominion and providence, we can be assured that He is in control.  Believers are reminded as well that Jesus became like us, so that through His own suffering, death, and resurrection, He could empathize with all that we experience, take our sins to the cross, and give us victory over sin and death.

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are a great God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - unbelievably so!  You suffered and died for me, then rose from the grace and gave me victory over sin and death...thank You Jesus for my salvation!  I am not deserving...the greatest gift of all time.  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.   

...having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

 Hebrews 1

...having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 1:4

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 1:4, the first division of 1:1-14 as described by my commentary.  Prior to an examination of Hebrews 1:4, my commentary highlights how Hebrews opens by focusing on who Jesus is, then moving on to what He has done.  This approach is deemed important, reminding us "to keep first things first. “Who is this Christ?” is the first question we must address when we talk about Jesus."  The commentary then jumps into Hebrews 1:4, explaining that the author of Hebrews devoted energy to discussing angels and how they compare to Jesus because the audience was Jewish and familiar with the Old Testament, and because the Intertestamental Period (or Second Temple Judaism as referred to by my commentary) "demonstrates an intense focus on angels."  My commentary shares that "[d]ue to this fascination with angels, the author of Hebrews, writing to a Jewish audience who was familiar with Second Temple literature, needed to recalibrate the theological understanding of his audience—particularly concerning Christ’s relationship to angels."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God, and You are more superior than anyone or anything in the universe - You created the universe and all of its inhabitants and You hold all of it in Your hands.  You suffered and died for me and You share Yourself with me - thank You Jesus for all of these blessings and more!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench[.]

Isaiah 42-44

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench[.] Isaiah 42:2-3

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. Today, I move on to Lesson 16, Day 3a, where the focus remains on Isaiah 42, largely on v1-9 where we examine the subject of these verses, and of course it is Jesus.  My study encourages me to see how Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy, pointing to Matthew 12:15-21, where Jesus says as much pointing back to Isaiah 42:1-3. As I read this morning these verses, I struggled to fully understand the intent of how Jesus does not "cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench[.]"  I leaned on John Piper to deepen my understanding and here is Piper (in the broader context of a message on the Pleasures of God) on these verses as he describes (using Jonathan Edwards words): the "excellencies" of Jesus (emphasis added): 

"[T]his servant, in whom the Father so fully delights, is so gentle that if he finds your wick, the wick of your little candle of faith, just smoldering — it’s not even making any light; it’s just smoke — he extinguish you but gently blow on your to light the flame again. That’s tenderness. There’s a grass that grows in Georgia that could be six feet tall. You could break it at the bottom and make a spear. If you hit one of them in the middle, you know it’s just going to flop over. If Jesus finds you that way, he’s not going to but you down. He props you up. A bruised reed, he will not break.

On the one hand, we have a majesty that is breathtaking. He made the world. He upholds the world. On the other hand, you have the most intimate, tender, kind, gentle, patient, loving, sweet, warm, breathe-on-your-wick friend, and the Father delights in that. It really makes God happy when he sees that.

One of the most moving sermons I have ever read on the excellencies of Christ is by Jonathan Edwards. Edwards argues that for us and for God, what makes Christ so delightful, so satisfying is not just his majesty and not just his meekness. It’s the conjunction of many diverse excellencies. It’s that way with people isn’t it? If you meet a masculine man and he’s all man, he’s not a very impressive fellow. He must have some feminine traits. If you meet a woman and she’s all feminine, she’s not impressive either. She needs some masculine traits."

What a perfect and amazing God we have!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who never leaves or forsakes me - You are a great encouragement - supernatural encouragement!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of the encouragement and hope You provide.  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.

Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech.

Isaiah 28-29

Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Isaiah 28:23

I resume my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. Today, on Lesson 11, Day 1, I begin an examination of Isaiah 28-29, first by reviewing chapter 28.  Here, we see a judgement on Ephraim and Jerusalem - as they fail to heed the word of God. God's anger is aroused and destruction of the whole land is looming (Isaiah 28:22).  I am not immune to a failure to listen to God - yet when we do this we fail to recognize who is delivering the message to us. It is the Creator, and the One True God who sustains everything and holds all things together (see Colossians 1:16-17).  Our lives are in the palm of His hands. Recognizing who God is should be a starting point for us to listen to His message and Word for us.    

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and I love You - You bless me daily, You give me life, etc. - far too many blessings to describe in words.  I am overwhelmed.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and love. I often fail to listen to and act on Your Word.  My sins are great and they are 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 without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Genesis 25, 27, 30, and 32

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). This morning, I continue with the story of "Jacob: Wrestling with the Past*".

*Title of lesson three from the Max Lucado study.

The commentary* of day three starts with Max Lucado emphasizing that "God blesses us in spite of our lives and not because of our lives." God knows all about Jacob's past yet He still blesses him and gives Jacob a new name - a new name that is more symbolic of who Jacob is in God's eyes. Lucado then wants us to see how Jacob focused on knowing God's name (Genesis 32:29) and that with each encounter (or wrestling match) with God, Jacob's name for God evolved as he better understood God's character.  Ultimately, as Jacob gets older he sees God as his "shepherd" and "the Angel who has delivered [him] from all harm" (Genesis 48:15-16). 

For me, this morning, my takeaway is that we are encouraged to "wrestle" with Him - check out this awesome post at DesiringGod.com. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and whom I have seen and significantly encountered many times in my life and I am grateful for each and every encounter as my love for You as grown - I know You exist and You have blessed me in so many ways I cannot even list all of them here.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and blessings.  I worry and I have many 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. 

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 7

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. v26-27

In describing Christ as a high priest, the author of Hebrews gives a great summary of some of the key attributes of our Lord and Savior.  More than anything, I am struck by how Jesus "truly meets our need".  Truly is defined as "with exactness of construction or operation" - in essence our need is met perfectly and only by God (see John Piper post here).  Note how the author uses the word need in the singular - implying that salvation is our greatest need above all (see also a Biblical worldview of Maslow's hierarchy of needs discussed here).  

While believers can acknowledge that we all sin and need a Savior (and that Jesus is that Savior) it is nonetheless important to examine our priorities and to remind ourselves of the primacy of our relationship with Jesus.

Jesus meets our need.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a a great God who meets my need - You do this solely and perfectly - thank You Jesus! I need You daily.  Yet I am undeserving of how You feed and sustain me.  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.

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. v16-17

Much like Galatians, Paul's letter to the church in Colossae serves to warn the believers there of .  In his attempt to do, per OverviewBible.com and the MacArthur Bible Study Commentary (for purchase), Paul seeks to (1) remind believers of who God is and their identity in Christ, and (2) provide practical advice on Christian living.

Colossians is also a prison epistle. 

I have many times referenced Colossians 1:16-17 to remind myself of how God is in control and on the subject of free will.  Both are weighty topics and underscore the importance of renewal of the mind.  

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You ARE in control and thank You for it!  My life would be a mess otherwise!  Being in control otherwise would mean less of You and more of me - again leading to destruction!  Thank You Jesus for what You have done to transform my heart and life to make me more like You.  I am blessed beyond what I deserve.  Thank You.  Yet...again...I am undeserving.  I am selfish, etc. Please forgive me Jesus as my sin is great and daily.  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 God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Acts 17

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ v24-28

There is much to unpack here as Paul helps the Athenians understand the One True God (vs all of their idols).

First we must understand that God has no limits in any way - not physically or via any limits to His capabilities.  He also does not need us but created us so that we may seek Him and glorify Him and bring others to Him...so that we may be saved (see also John 3).  God is not far from us and we are His offspring.  God loves us and He cares for us.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I know You love and care for me - thank You Jesus!  Yet I am undeserving of Your love.  I have briefly drifted from You and I need Your forgiveness for many things. Please forgive me and help me overcome 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.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. v1-5

According to BibleOverview.com, "John is the fourth and last Gospel (an account of Jesus’ life and ministry) in the new Testament. John focuses on the deity of Christ more so than the other four: we see Jesus as the Word of God, the Son of God, and God Himself. Jesus is a great miracle worker, an omniscient teacher, a compassionate provider, and a faithful friend".

BibleOverview.com also indicates that, unlike the other (synoptic) gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), "John does not aim to chronicle the whole life of Christ—in fact, John doesn’t think the world could contain such a document (John 21:25). Instead, John presents a few signs and teachings that should compel us to believe in Jesus".

Verses 1-5 are a great place for us to start regarding who Jesus is.  I am excited to dive into my study of John.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what an amazing God You are!  You are Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit!  You live in my heart, and Your live in Your Word and my study of Your Word allows me to hear from You and learn about and from You - thank You Jesus for all of this!  I am undeserving of such a God.  I worry and I am full of stress.  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.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Luke 8

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” v25

There are going to be periods in our life where we question whether God exists or whether He cares about us - see John 16:33 where He tells us "in this world, you will have trouble".  In the Garden of Eden, after The Fall, God promises Adam and Eve, and their descendants, a difficult life.

Yet we can always find our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ - who is always with us.  See Matthew 1:23.  God will never leave or forsake us, and He is with us until the end of the age. 

That said, the next question many will have is - where is God?  

God is in the Bible - You will find Him (John 1:1).

God is in the church - in the fellowship of believers.

We have the Holy Spirit. 

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 loves me and who has made Himself known to me and blessed me - my cup runs over.  Thank You Jesus!  I am undeserving of such blessings and such a God.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from such 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.