And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Mark 6:7-13

And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. Mark 6:11-13

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 6:7-13, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God both calls and sends (v7), implying that God gives us something to do and a place where we are to go.  The sending is a mission function in that we are called to serve a specific community often first by traveling to this community. God also equips in that He gives us power (v7) and we should trust that He provides as we serve (vv8-9). We are reminded that it is God alone that softens hearts and saves - we share the gospel, and He saves (v11).    
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: There are those who have not and will not receive the gospel and repent - we should continue to share, but move on from those who do not repent (v11).    
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We are to listen for God's call and to go where He wants us to go.  God gives us power as He works through us and in the same way, He provides.  As we serve, we can trust in Him to work in and through us and to provide.    

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God You are an awesome God that loves and saves.  You saved me, of course while still sinning and an enemy and hostile to You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save.  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. 

[Caiaphas] did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad....And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

John 11:51-52 and John 10:16

[Caiaphas] did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad....And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. John 11:51-52, John 10:16

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. While Holy Week and Easter have passed, I do want to read to completion John Piper's 50-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #46: To Gather All His Sheep from Around the World.  Piper opens this devotion by sharing how God often uses His creation who unwittingly speak on God's behalf.  His first example is from Numbers 22:28 where a donkey speaks for God.  His next example is from John 11:50-52 where the high priest of Israel - Caiaphas - unwittingly prophesied that "Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."  Piper then shares how Jesus Himself said the same thing as Caiaphas - see John 10:16.  Emphasizing this specific prophecy, the devotion then remarks how Jesus works as "astonishing [because] [t]hey teach that all over the world there are people whom God has chosen to be reached and saved by Jesus Christ....This means that God is very aggressive in gathering a people for his Son. He calls his people to go make disciples, but he also goes before them. He has a people chosen before his messengers get there."  As the devotion begins to wind down, Piper highlights the importance of missions as he refers us to John 10:3-4.  The devotion then concludes and nets out the key response for those readers who are believers: "Jesus suffered and died so that the sheep could hear his voice and live...He gave up his life to gather the sheep. By his blood he bought the mercy that makes his voice unmistakable to his own. Pray that God would apply that mercy to you, and that you would hear and live."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who is in control and You have a perfect design and plan to reach all nations and peoples. Use me Father God in this plan - help me understand and answer Your call to serve and help.  Thank You for the incredible grace and mercy You poured out for me as shed blood so that I could live now for You and for eternity.  I am not deserving of such blessings...not by a long shot.  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.

Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Acts 13:1-12

 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Acts 13:12

While I have completed my study of Zechariah and it's time to transition to Malachi (as part of my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book), I continue a pause before moving to Malachi to study Acts 13-14 as preparation for my Sunday school discussion this upcoming Sunday.  For today, I lean on sermon delivered by John Piper covering Acts 13:1-12.

• Acts is narrative of how the book of Acts is a transition from how God sent His Son Jesus into the world to how Christ sent the church into the world. Churches out to be not in maintenance mode but in mission mode.
  
• Acts 13 is a great example of mission mode. 
• God's mission heart started at Advent to send His Son that extends to His church to save cannot be stopped.  God softened the heart of leaders such as Sergius Paulus who pave the way to lead others to Him (v7, 12). He also removes obstacles such as Bar Jesus/Elymas that seek to stop God's mission (vv6-11).
• The straight paths of the Lord vv8,10 represent God's mission to bring Good News to the world and to bring many to Himself in faith.  God has straight paths - He gives wisdom and He removes obstacles. We pray, we fast, we seek and God provides straight paths. 
  
• The proconsul believed - this is the straight path in this text.  God used Elymas as a means to demonstrate His might to Sergius Paulus.  God uses these obstacles for His purpose to bring about His plan. 
• Grow, press on in mission mode. Don't slip into maintenance mode.
• Don't let the Elymas characters of the world stop you - there are these characters in our lives; trust in God, pray, seek Him and God will make straight a path to His purpose. 
  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God and my Savior!  I have seen how You have made straight the paths in my life to bring about Your purpose in my life.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save and bless.  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.

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.  

Comment and discuss this post here. 

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.

Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10

Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:31

This morning, I continued with John Piper's book Holy Ambition.  My focus today is on chapter ten “I Am Sending You Out as Sheep in the Midst of Wolves”, pages 146-157.  Here, Piper's primary objective is to highlight the six costs and ten blessings of frontier mission work, using Matthew 10:16-31 as his reference point. 

Costs:

1. Being arrested (v10:16-18)
2. Family betrayal (v10:21)
3. Being hated by all (v10:22)
4. Being persecuted and driven out of town (v10:23)
5. Being killed (v10:28)

Blessings

1. Being sent by Christ (v10:16)
2. Being given words by the Spirit of God (v10:19-20)
3. Blessings of experiencing God's Fatherly care (v10:20)
4. Blessing of salvation at the end of it all (v10:22)
5. Blessing of knowing the Son of Man is coming in judgement and mercy (v10:23)
6. Blessing of belonging to Jesus' household (v10:25)

Piper knows that not all are hearing the call to join the frontier mission field, yet he provides these words as a means to help "us count the costs [of frontier mission work] so there is no romantic naivete about missions.  And he does it be filling us with a longing to know these blessings to the full."  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has blessed me in immeasurable, indescribable ways - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You pour out blessings for me.  My sin of worry, etc. 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.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Psalm 67:1-2

This morning, I continued with John Piper's book Holy Ambition.  My focus today is on chapter six Let the Peoples Praise You, O God! Let All the Peoples Praise You!, pages 94-109. Here, Piper looks at Psalm 67 and unpacks what we should understand about missions. Piper first points out how this Psalm is "rooted" in the Abrahamic Covenant from Genesis 12:2-3.  We must understand how Abraham is blessed so that he will be blessing...not just the Jews, but "all the families of the earth" (Genesis 12:3).  Piper makes this clear by referencing Paul and how he writes that anyone who is in Christ (including the Gentiles) is "an heir of all his blessings" (Galatians 3) - this was always part of God's design and plan.  We are then (using Psalm 67) reminded of God's purpose is "to be known and praised and enjoyed and feared among all the peoples of the earth" - this includes God's purpose for the world and missions.  Piper's key message for us - particularly for those in the West and more pointedly for Americans - is that God blesses so that we are a blessing to the unreached. We must be good stewards of this blessing and not waste it - otherwise it becomes a curse.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has blessed me - blessed me indeed!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me.  My sin is great and it continues - sin of 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.