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

1 Corinthians 15

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

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at grace - which John Piper describes as not just "leniency when we have sinned[, but also] the enabling gift and power of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon." Piper leans on 1 Corinthians 15:10 and continues by sharing that efforts to be obedient to God are through God - not of our own effort - and Paul highlights that God does this through grace. We are referred as well to 1 Peter 4:11 where Peter writes that God supplies the strength to serve - through His grace. We are given yet another text in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 where God works to equip us "according to the grace of our God." Piper wraps the devotion by sharing that "[t]he obedience that gives God pleasure is produced by the power of God’s grace through faith. The same dynamic is at work at every stage of the Christian life. The power of God’s grace that saves through faith (Ephesians 2:8) is the same power of God’s grace that sanctifies through faith."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are SO good as You pour out Your grace daily for me as forgiveness and power to be who You intend for me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such riches and blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and 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.

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

1 Corinthians 15

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

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, and John Piper urges us to look closely at God's grace for us.  He starts by stating that "[g]race is not only God’s disposition to do good for us when we don’t deserve it. It is an actual power from God that acts and makes good things happen in us and for us."  Piper uses not only 1 Corinthians 15:10 as text to emphasize his message today, but he uses Philippians 2:12-13 where Paul is more explicit how "God...works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."  Piper wraps the devotion by exhorting us to also see how grace is past and future, and that our proper response to past grace is thankfulness, and faith in response promised grace in the future.  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and Your grace is amazing indeed - both past and future!  Thank You for the grace You have already poured out for me and also for the faith You give me for the promised future grace - You are faithful!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and 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.

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

As I continue my vacation in Maine, I maintain a pause on my studies of both Isaiah and Proverbs, and tonight and throughout my vacation I will use DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotionals - today's focuses on how God's grace should be recognized not only as an undeserved act in the past but also a form of power in the future.  In the devotional John Piper seeks for us to fully appreciate how grace is a form of power.  He unpacks 2 Thessalonians 1:12: "[t]he power that actually works in our lives to make Christ-exalting obedience possible is an exertion of the grace of God."  He uses 1 Corinthians 15:10 to underscore his point, then states again: "[s]o, grace is an active, present, transformative, obedience-enabling power." He describes this past and future grace as a cascading waterfall that keeps flowing.  For the grace we have already experienced, we should be thankful.  For the grace we are to experience (as power), we should trust.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is full of grace for me as an eternal cascading waterfall - thank You Jesus!  I can trust in Your grace - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and grace.  My sin is daily - anger, impatience, etc. 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 he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I paused my studies of both Isaiah and Proverbs to listen to DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional, which focuses on how our suffering and weakness reveals God's strength and glory.  Paul had his famous "thorn in his flesh" and he pleaded (v8) with God to remove it (see more on Paul's thorn in his flesh), but God let it remain and God told him why He left the thorn in Paul's flesh. God wants us to depend on Him, and it is during hard times and with our "thorns in the flesh" when we depend on Him the most.  We experience and see God's grace when we depend on Him - it becomes evident.  Piper writes that "sometimes he makes seemingly strong people weaker so that the divine power will be the more evident." Piper urges us to be content during "weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities." God, please help me be content during such experiences. 

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus, You are amazing and Your grace IS sufficient - now and during all times - of course during those times when I am weak.  I have experienced Your grace during such times - thank You Jesus.  I am undeserving of such grace.  My sin continues and I often fail to trust and be content during such times.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me....To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15 and 2 Thessalonians 1

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me....To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:10, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Today, I once again draw on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper describes how grace is not just pardon for our sins but also power for our obedience.  Piper states: "[t]herefore, the effort we make to obey God is not an effort done in our own strength, but “by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11). It is the obedience of faith. Faith in God’s ever-arriving gracious power to enable us to do what we should."  Humility remains one of the cornerstones of our faith: faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8) and we are not deserving (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8, Romans 6:23) and here we are reminded how this cornerstone of faith works with regards to grace and how it drives our obedience. Thank You Jesus!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me and who is full of grace for me - for my salvation and faith, but also for my obedience and sanctification - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of any of these blessings - my sin 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.