Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!

 Psalm 96

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Psalm 96:7

As I wrapped my study of 1 Corinthians, and I ponder what to study next, my Bible study this morning leans on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks closely at one verse from David's response to the return of the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem (see also 1 Chronicles 16).  This is certainly a joyous occasion, and David marks the occasion by describing God's strength.  John Piper unpacks what this means by sharing that "[f]irst, by God’s grace, we give attention to God and see that he is strong. We give heed to his strength. Then we give our approval to the greatness of his strength. We give due regard to its worth."  Piper then goes on to describe that this celebration and wonder in God's strength is based in an acknowledgement that we are not God and we do not have his strength.  Piper shares: "[w]e feel a profound fitness in the fact that he is infinitely strong, and we are not. We love the fact that this is so. We do not envy God for his strength. We are not covetous of his power. We are full of joy that all strength is his."  Ultimately, Piper writes how we get to a place where we have this "supremely satisfying experience of not being God, but admiring the Godness of God — the strength of God. There settles over us a peaceful realization that admiration of the infinite is the final, all-satisfying end of all things."  At this point, of course, we avoid any attempt to usurp any of God's strength as our own.  Piper points us to 2 Corinthians 4:7 where Paul writes that any power within us is not from us but from God working in us. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me...giving me an opportunity to see Your hand in the world and within me and those close to me.  You are amazing!  Thank You Jesus for the grace You pour out on me.  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 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 Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

Daniel 1

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. Daniel 1:8

I pause in my study of Hebrews to study Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 1 and my unaided observations of this chapter.  Tomorrow, I review the same text and lean on commentary provided the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series for Daniel. Here in Daniel 1, we read about how Babylon, under the reign of king Nebuchadnezzar, sieged Jerusalem and brought back to Babylon "vessels of the house of God" as well as youth of Israel to serve in Nebuchadnezzar's palace.  Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, whom the chief of eunuchs renamed Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  They were given the same food and wine that the king ate and drank, but Daniel "resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank" (v8).  He requested vegetables and water and proved to the chief of eunuchs that he would not be any less healthy or strong, so ultimately allowed Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to eat and drink vegetables and water (v16).  The text remarks twice how "God gave" and blessed the young men, first "God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs" (v9), then "God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams" (v17). From the text this morning, similar to how Joseph in Genesis found himself in difficult circumstances, Daniel and his companions, although they found themselves taken as slaves to serve in Nebuchadnezzar's palace, they held firm in their faith of God and chose to continue in obedience to Him - trusting that He would provide...and of course He did.  We see in v17-20 how God blessed these young men with spiritual gifts that made them stand out among all the other slaves, and how they were "ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom."  Regardless of our circumstances, God wants us to continue in obedience to Him.  He places us in these circumstances for a reason - to glorify Him. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who blesses me, equips me, and provides for me - regardless of my circumstances.  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.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, and John Piper discusses how seeing the glory of God is believers' "ultimate hope".  He provides the following texts for us to understand and appreciate God's glory:

• Jude 1:24
• Romans 9:23
• 1 Thessalonians 2
• Titus 2:13
• Hebrews 1:3 
• John 17:24
• 1 Peter 5:1
• Romans 8:21
• 1 Corinthians 2:7 
• 2 Corinthians 4:17
• Romans 8:30        

Through these texts Piper wants us to "[s]ee and shar[e] in God’s glory[, as it] is our ultimate hope through the gospel of Christ." He writes that [s]uch a hope, that is really known and treasured, has a huge and decisive effect on our present values and choices and actions."  Piper wraps the devotion with the following exhortation: "Get to know the glory of God. Study the glory of God and the glory of Christ. Study the glory of the world that reveals the glory of God, and the glory of the gospel that reveals the glory of Christ. Treasure the glory of God in all things and above all things. Study your soul. Know the glory you are seduced by, and know why you treasure glories that are not God’s glory." Amen!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I have seen and experienced Your glory in the written word - I am in awe of You.  I am not deserving of how You display the works of Your glory in my life.  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.  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 I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 4-8:1

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5:13-14

I resumed my D-Group's study of Revelation using Stephen Witmer's commentary and study guide.  My focus tonight is the memory verse for this week - Revelation 5:13-14.  In Revelation 4-5 John is given a vision of Heaven where God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all present and God is seated on the throne and Jesus is represented by the slain lamb who has the authority to open the scroll and seven seals that reveal God's plan for the end times. In 5:11 Jesus is worshiped and in 5:13-14 both God the Father and Jesus are worshiped using nearly identical words used in 5:11. John Piper, in a sermon where series where he explores hope, he ends the series by summarizing it, and in this summary he highlights three truths about hope: 

1. "First, the glory of God is very great.
2. Second, the glory of God is a sure hope in Jesus Christ.
3. Third, the hope of the glory of God fills the heart with joy and exultation."

 In looking at (1) specifically, Piper highlights ten ways the Bible (New Testament) gives us glimpses of the greatness of God's glory, including Revelation 5:11-14, where he uses these verses in Revelation to indicate: "[s]urely the purpose of giving us a glimpse into this heavenly worship is to make us feel the greatness of the Lord and the tremendous worth of his glory."

Finally, Piper wants us to, as Paul writes in Romans 5 to "rejoice in [the] hope of the glory of God."

Indeed - I am grateful for the blessing of Revelation to see God's glory and the greatness of God's glory, how it is a certainty, and how I get to share in the hope of the glory of God - and of course for this I am certainly joyful!  Thank You Jesus!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your glory is great indeed, as it sure, and I get to share in it and be joyful because of it - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues daily - 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.

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Psalm 96

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! Psalm 96:1-3

This morning, I continued with John Piper's book Holy Ambition.  My focus today is on chapter eleven Music and Missions for the Glory of God, pages 158-168. Here Piper wants us to join the author of Psalm 96 in "extolling and glorifying God as sovereign Creator, Savior, and Judge. For the Psalms ultimately take us to the ends of the earth, with a song on our lips, until the day our Savior returns and receives his kingship among all nations." Piper wants us also to see how Psalm 96 demonstrates the objective of missions by declaring God's glory to the nations, summoning them to join believers, and to warn the nations of judgement that awaits those who don't surrender their life to Jesus. Piper points to how Paul uses Romans 15:9-12 where Paul thoroughly references the Old Testament to show how all of scripture points us to the Great Commission and to be an encouragement for both senders and goers.  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and who is worthy of songs of praise - all the time!  Thank You for how You bless me and of course how You saved me - the greatest gift of all time.  I am not deserving of such a gift and for all the ways You bless 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.