And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark 4:1-20

And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 4:9

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on a commentary-assisted review of Mark 4:1-20, starting with vv1-9 which is the text for the first (of three) division per the commentary. Excerpts from the commentary's introduction to vv1-20 and the first division:  

• "Main idea: Jesus calls His followers to hear, respond to, and share the gospel, while sin, the cares of this world, and opposition hinder kingdom growth."
• "Mark 4 teaches us there also is a spiritual connection between the heart and the ear. In verse 3 Jesus says, 'Listen!' In verse 9 He says, 'Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!' In verse 12 He speaks of those who 'may listen and listen, yet not understand.' And in verse 20 He speaks of those who 'hear the word, welcome it, and produce a crop.'"
• "(1) Parables provide insight into the nature, coming, growth, and consummation of the kingdom of God. They give us pictures of this kingdom that “has come near” (1:15). (2) Parables are by design provocative and surprising. (3) Parables are used to stimulate thinking and cause the hearer to contemplate what they are hearing. (4) Parables use everyday objects, events, and circumstances to illustrate spiritual truth, usually with a new twist. (5) Parables reveal more truth to those with receptive ears, and they hide truth from others. This is critical to understanding 4:10-12. (6) Parables make up 35 percent of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels. (7) Parables usually, but not always, focus on a single truth. We should not allegorize them seeking a meaning for every detail. (8) Parables in the Gospels ultimately draw attention to Jesus as God’s Messiah and call us to make a personal decision concerning Him."
• "The parable begins with a challenge for Jesus’ hearers to pay careful attention. A spiritually alert heart and hungry mind are needed to understand what He is teaching. The message of the parable for Christians is clear: we must sow the seed of the gospel that others might hear and respond. Responses will vary, but that is not our concern. Our assignment is to sow and sow generously, even promiscuously! God is responsible for the harvest (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)."  

The commentary also suggests the name of the text here should be the Parable of the Soil vs the Sower as the takeaway we should get is that good soil is key.  We should strive to prepare our hearts and mind to hear, receive and respond appropriately to His Word.  That is why we should pray for the Holy Spirit to help us before we read scripture.  I recommend reading John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally. At the same time, as the commentary states, we should in response to God's Word and what is doing in our own hearts and lives - sow and spread the Good News generously as we should feel as Peter did in Acts 4:20 as "we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God You are an awesome God who loves me and who gave me a heart inclined to hear Your Word and accept You as my Lord and Savior.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You softened my heart and saved 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 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 he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand.

Daniel 8

 And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. Daniel 8:25

I continue my study of Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 8:15-27 as I lean on my commentary for this text - which my commentary outlines as having one division - God Sent Gabriel with an Interpretation - with three subdivisions.  The commentary for this text starts by sharing how "God’s revelation of himself in the Bible is a gift. God’s interpretation of his revelation is a double gift."  God reveals Himself in nature and creation through general revelation and He reveals Himself through His Word (special revelation).  In v16, God commands the angel Gabriel to help interpret Daniel's vision.  My commentary describes this moment: "Though under no obligation, God, in grace, helps Daniel in “trying to understand it” (v. 15)."  

• Understanding God’s Word requires divine assistance (8:15-17): God sends Gabriel to Daniel to interpret his vision
  
• Understanding God’s Word prepares us for what is coming (8:18-26): God wanted Israel to know that their suffering (albeit brought about by their own transgression (v12), would, according to the commentary "not be indefinite." The commentary describes the suffering, particularly under    Antiochus Epiphanes, and how Daniel's prophecies all come to pass in truth.  Ultimately, Antiochus Epiphanes falls - not by human hands (v25) as God reigns over all, including all nation states and their rulers.  The revolt by the Maccabeans in 164BC is described in the commentary and how this revolt of course is orchestrated by God and how Jews still celebrate Hanukkah in remembrance of this event.
  
• Understanding God’s Word can be personally overpowering (8:27): The commentary describes how Daniel is "undone by the vision of chapter 8. It was more than he could bear." Although Daniel's initial reaction to the vision was overwhelming, he ultimately continued in his ministry, comforted in knowing God was in control.  My commentary wraps by sharing "Daniel did not let it [his vision] paralyze him. He did his job, and he trusted in his God. He is an example to all of us."
  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who reveals Himself to me - thank You Jesus!  I am comforted by how You reveal Yourself to me - and undeserving.  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 sid 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.

[F]or I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose[.]’

[F]or I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose[.]’ Isaiah 46:9-10

This afternoon, I completed John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, moving on beyond the final chapter (27) covered yesterday to the conclusion.  Here, Piper leaves us with a few encouraging statements to recap his book.  His dismisses those across the ages who see the Bible as less than perfect in its structure and presentation.  Piper writes that "God knew exactly what he was doing when he inspired all of these diverse authors and diverse writings that we have in this one inspired book?  That is what I believe." He is prayerful that "many would turn from [this] book to God's book with new zeal and aggressive attentiveness and active reading.  We are to "pursue the natural act of reading the Bible supernaturally."  Finally, Piper invites us to join him as "[i]t is the only way for your life to be of lasting service to the world, and for your work to show forth the glory of God, and for your soul to be fully satisfied forever."  

 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are amazing God and Your Word IS perfect and it is You and You provide it for me to help me see and savor Your Glory and for me to grow in my understanding and love of You - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You provide You Word for me and for You bless me in immeasurable ways! My sin continues...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.

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge...Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.

Pages: 374-387

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge...Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. Proverbs 22:17, 23:12

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty-seven: Querying the Text About Paradoxes, Pleasures, and a Transformed Life.  Here, in this final chapter of the book, Piper gives us final encouragements about natural reading of the Bible; he urges "aggressive attentiveness", to look, look and look and to ask questions and seek answers.  He recommends arcing as a mechanism or device to structure our approach.  He then describes how we are to seek not just the "meaning" of the text in terms of the author's intent, but also the "significance" or application.  Looking for significance or application "often sheds light back on the meaning of the text, not just its significance."  This is described as perhaps "merry-go-roundish" as we need to first seek meaning but the meaning may be further illuminate by seeking significance or application.  Piper also urges us to "ask questions about the kind of emotions the author is trying to awaken....[as] everything is meant to move us.  Being moved is part of what Scripture intends.  Piper looks at Proverbs 22:17-24:22 as an example. 

Finally, as we ask questions and seek both the meaning and application of Scripture, Piper wants us to ask "am I being changed in a way that conforms to what this author intended to communicate?  Perhaps more than all the other questions we must ask as we read, this one will put us on our faces in prayer for the supernatural work of God."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God indeed and I am amazed at Your creation and that You provide it for my enjoyment and You provide Your Word which feeds me in all ways and I have been transformed by it and blessed by it - thank You Jesus!  I am blessed yet undeserving.  My sin continues, including worry, and 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 Word for me today and every day.

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

Pages: 365-373

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Psalm 119:103-104

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty-six: Propositions: Collections of Nuggets or Links in a Chain.  Here, Piper continues to encourage us to build our natural reading habits by pursing "aggressive attentiveness."  He writes that we can find Biblical authors' intent by looking at the words and phrases used in their context.  Here in this chapter, he goes further by saying - using Paul as an example - that the Bible is is not a string of useful nuggets, instead it is a chain.  He introduces the use of "arcing" as a practical method or device where we "identif[y] the clauses of propositions of a text, figuring out how they relate to each other in the emerging argument, and then labeling them with abbreviations under the arcs that we connected with ever-enlarging arcs as we saw how the pieces of the argument fit together."  Piper provides Biblearc.com as a useful resource.  

As I've grown in my walk with Christ, I've leaned on Matthew 5:6 and felt the truth in this promise as continue to as I read John Piper and his thoughts about how to increase the fruit from our Bible study.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God indeed and You HAVE filled and satisfied me!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving for how you feed me in ALL ways.  My sin continues - 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.

Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will give you the ability to understand everything.

Pages: 351-363

Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will give you the ability to understand everything. 2 Timothy 2:7

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty-five: Asking Questions about Words and Phrases. Here, Piper seeks to give us practical tips about how to read the Bible naturally.  Before he jumps to this topic, Piper recommends using a Bible translation that seeks to "preserve the forms of structures of the [original] Greek and Hebrew [texts]."  He refers to this as "formal equivalence" and as such he recommends either the ESV or NASB translation with ESV being his personal preference. Piper then jumps into how we should read by "looking for the truth that the author intends to communicate by this selection of words in their arrangement...Words don't have intrinsic meaning.  They get their meaning from usage." A key practical approach is to use a concordance and to "consider...other uses [of the selected words], as they occur, in concentric circles starting with the paragraph or chapter you are studying.  Then consider uses of the word in the same Biblical book.  Then consider uses in other books by the same author." We then should widen the circle to the New or Old Testament then to the entire Bible. Finally, Piper recommends sentence diagramming (see also John Piper on "arcing")as a means to put "every part of a sentence into its author-intended relationship to the others." 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who gave me Your Word to feed, sustain, and to sanctify me - thank You Jesus!  What an incredible gift - like the gift of salvation I am undeserving.  My sin continues...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 messages for me today and every day.

Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will give you the ability to understand everything.

Pages: 339-349

Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will give you the ability to understand everything. 2 Timothy 2:7

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty-four: Active Reading Means Asking Questions.  Here, Piper continues to unpack his recommendations on natural reading - and how we can read actively and attentively by looking deeply at Scripture.  In this chapter, he focuses on asking questions as we read and by aggressively seeking answers to these question. He writes that we are to "habitually spot things that at first don't make complete sense, feel a disturbance in our minds, and then dig our way down to the beauty of truth."  He pleads that "with the profoundest respect for God's word, and with great confidence in its unity, we spot these puzzles and spare no effort to dig down till we find the unity [(that brings parts of the Bible together)]."

We are warned that "there is a direct correlation between what we understand of God and how intensely we admire him.  You can only muster only so much admiration for someone you don't know.  God is not honored by such admiration." 

He wraps up the chapter by stating that we are to "aggressively ask questions to yourself and to the text.  Little by little, thread by thread, you begin to see the intricately woven fabric of God's revelation.  Over time you will be changed."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and Your Word is treasure indeed, sweeter than honey and more valuable than silver and gold.  I am sustained by Your Word and I see Your glory in Your Word.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your Word or anything You provide for me, particularly salvation - I have sinned gravely and I continue to sin.  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.

They love the Lord’s teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night...I think about your orders and study your ways...How I love your teachings! I think about them all day long.

Pages: 325-337

They love the Lord’s teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night...I think about your orders and study your ways...How I love your teachings! I think about them all day long. Psalm 1:2, 119:15, 97

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty-three: The Power of Patience and Aggressive Attentiveness.  Here, Piper starts to unpack a recommendation that in our goal of reading the Bible naturally, we "form the habit, and develop the patience, to look longer and more carefully than you ever have."  He urges us to read actively vs passively as we become engaged and more alert. He shares colorful stories of how scholars urged him to "look, look, look" at the subject of his study.  He states that "[t]he barrier to seeing the riches of the Scriptures is not owing to the act that more people don't know Greek and Hebrew, but that more people don't have the patience to look, look, look."  This is described as a costly effort but one that yields immense results. Piper quotes a Harvard art history professor - Jennifer Roberts - who recommends that we "develop the patience to 'decelerate' and 'immerse' [ourselves] in attention...[as] patience becomes an active and positive cognitive state...now it is a form of control over the tempo of contemporary life that otherwise controls us. Patience no longer connotes disempowerment-perhaps now patience is power."

More on this topic as Piper continues to unpack this topic in the next chapter tomorrow...

Comment and discuss this topic here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your teachings, Your orders, Your ways, Your Word - all worthy of my full attention, and constant meditation - I seek Your glory in Your word and I seek to both see and savor it - to be glorified by it and of course to worship and please You with my life.  I know I exist to glorify You and I know You love me and saved me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and to be saved - it is only through Your grace. My sin continues.  I too often seek my own comfort yet You call me out of my comfort.  Please forgive me Jesus!  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 myself today and every day.

Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has given us. And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths to spiritual people.

Pages: 313-323

Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has given us. And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths to spiritual people. 1 Corinthians 2:12-13

This afternoon, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty-two: The Ordinary Aim of Reading: God's Intention through Man's Intention. Here, Piper seeks to reinforce what he started in the previous chapters here and here where he explores the ordinary aim of reading and states that we are to focus on what the Biblical authors intended at the time. In this chapter, he focuses on two questions.  One, "[h]ow does the human author's intention related to God's intention as the one who inspired the text?" His answer is that God's intentions are communicated through human intention - scripture "comes in the language of particular human authors in particular times and places" and "God availed himself of the language, style, vocabulary, and peculiar usages of individual biblical writers." In other words, "to grasp what these human authors intended to communicate in their particular historical situation is also to grasp God's own intention for that situation."  Piper also looks at a second question which is "[c]an an author mean more than his is conscious of?" Piper wants us to understand that God "can and does have more in mind to communicate...Yet no author, except God, sees all the necessary implications of what he writes...But that does not disconnect the intentions of God from the vocabulary and habits of writing used by the human authors.  We have no other sure and certain access to the mind of God through the way authors use language to communicate their intentions."

Piper ends by stating that "we must not ignore the urgency of pursuing the human authors intention with all our might." 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has provided Your Word and the Holy Spirit so that I can see, savior and be transformed by Your glory - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You provide these and all the gifts You provide - particularly salvation.  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.

Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. No prophecy ever came from what a person wanted to say, but people led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.

Pages: 303-312

Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. No prophecy ever came from what a person wanted to say, but people led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God. 2 Peter 1:20-21

This afternoon, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty-one - The Ordinary Aim of Reading: Five Reasons to Define Meaning as What the Author Intended to Communicate.  Here, Piper seeks to build on the previous chapter by providing five reasons "for advocating for" reading to understand what the author intended to communicate. 

 First, "the Bible assumes it" - Piper provides a few examples, including 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, John 21:20-23, and 11:11-14 to help us see that "Jesus really does intend for us to pay close attention to his words in order to hear what he really intends to communicate."  He goes on to say that "[t]here is little good that will come if we bring a definition of meaning to the Scriptures that they themselves do not assume."

Second, we should pursue "this definition of meaning because it helps us treat others the way we would like to be treated."  Put another way, we should "[r]ead an author of any important communication the way you would like to be read if you wrote an important communication."  Piper goes on to say that "when we write important things, we want our readers to make every effort to see and honor our intentions as we wrote." Of course the implication is that the Bible an important communication and we should treat it accordingly!

Third, we read this way because we humble, assuming we seek to grow closer in our understanding of God.

Fourth, we read this way "our way of reading corresponds to the way the universe really is."  Piper shares that "there is a life-shaping objective reality outside of us that we cannot control and that we need to know and adapt to...God is absolute reality."  He goes on to say that "[h]uman authors have imparted their God-given intention to words.  Those words exist, and those meanings exist. They are objective realities outside of us.  It is our glory to seek them and find them-by reading."

Fifth, and finally, we read this way because it has authority over us.  The meaning cannot change.  The applications may change based on the individual reading Scripture and their circumstances, but the meaning is fixed. Piper writes that the Bibles teachings and their "unchangeability that lets their divine authority endure from age to age."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are indeed great, as is Your Word and the Holy Spirit and I see Your glory in both and I am both amazed and blessed - thank You.  I am blessed and undeserving of the blessings You pour for me.  I am selfish and I have other sins.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Lord is good and right; he points sinners to the right way. He shows those who are humble how to do right, and he teaches them his ways.

Pages: 295-300

The Lord is good and right; he points sinners to the right way. He shows those who are humble how to do right, and he teaches them his ways. Psalm 25:8-9

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter twenty - The Ordinary Aim of Reading: The Meaning of Meaning. Here, Piper seeks to help us start understanding "basic, general habits of good [Bible] reading."  He encourages us to avoid looking at types of writing as a guideline for interpretation or understanding.  He really wants us to understand and interpret Scriptures with a "mind-set that usually sees the most in a text, and sees it with the most transformative authenticity and confidence, is the mind-set that lets the text itself dictate as much as possible while we scrutinize the text with all our might." He is hopeful that through his own experience he can pass on "habits of mind and heart that I think are stunningly fruitful."

His focus in this chapter is for us to understand natural (or ordinary) reading or the act of reading that we do versus the supernatural reading that occurs through the Holy Spirit that helps us. Piper writes that the "ordinary aim of reading is to grasp the meaning of the text."  He then goes on to help us understand that as we seek the meaning of the text, we are seeking "what the author intended to communicate" including emotions and what the author wanted us to experience - the author's intention or "transfer of thoughts from one mind to another."

Piper pauses further unpacking of this matter for the next and subsequent chapters. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God - the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  You are my Lord and Savior.  Without You I am nothing and condemned to death - thank You Lord for saving me...and for giving me the Holy Spirit to help me and Your Word.  I am not deserving of such love.  My sins continue...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.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Pages: 234-249

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. James 1:21

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter fifteen - Humility Throws Open a Thousand Windows.  Here Piper builds on the previous chapter by exploring how we "act the miracle that God causes?" Piper provides a five step process using an acronym - APTAT (video describing this process here):

1. Admit: admit that without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5)
   
2. Pray: pray for God's help, whatever form of help I need (Matthew 7:7, James 4:2, Psalm 50:15)
3. Trust: trust in a specific promise of God that is tailor-made to my situation or a general promise (Isaiah 55:11, 41:10, Matthew 10:20, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:19)
4. Act: act in obedience, expecting God to act under and in and through my acting (1 Corinthians 3:6-7, 15:10, Philippians 2:12, Romans 8:13)
5. Thank: thank God for whatever good comes - give Him the glory (Ephesians 5:20)

Piper states that it "begins with humility" - one of the most-oft discussed topics in the Bible. He writes that "[i]t begins with a real sense of how depraved and distorted our minds are, and how readily our hearts desire other things more than we desire God." Piper uses child-like humility to discuss how we should be humble: "[t]he humility of a child, rather, is his free and willing awareness that he cannot provide for his own needs and must have an adult to meet all his needs." The Holy Spirit is central here to "humble us so that we relish the glory of Christ more than we relish our self-exaltation."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who has blessed us with the Holy Spirit to humble us so that we may receive Your word, to see and savor Your glory so that we may be transformed day-by-day into Your image until glorification when we see You face to face.  Oh what a day that will be!  Thank You Jesus for all of this and all that You do!  Yet I know that You are not yet finished me and I am undeserving - there is more sanctification as my sin continues.  Please forgive me Jesus for my sins - worry, 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.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Pages: 224-240

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13

This afternoon, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, moving on to Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter fourteen - God Forbid That We Despise His Natural Gifts.  Here Piper seeks to unpack the paradox he refers to in the title of the chapter - his "aim...is to encourage a deep dependence on God and the fullest use of your natural powers in the supernatural act of reading the Bible."

Piper starts by stating that "[w]ithout God's supernatural intervention, we would have no motivation to read the Scriptures in the hope of treasuring Christ above all things (1 Kings 8:58, Psalm 119:36)." It is God who grants us the heart and eyes to see His glory. The critical point here is found in Philippians 2:12-13 as Piper writes that we "work out" or effect our salvation because God is already at work in us through a saving relationship.  He continues that this salvation is the..."specific daily deliverance from the soul-destroying works of the flesh (1 Peter 2:11)-things like anger and self-pity and greed and lust." Proverbs 2:1-7 is also used to help us better understand how God works in us. "We do the [reading and] thinking-the rigorous effort to read with understanding; God creates the miracle of supernatural light in processes of our thought."

God gives us the will to read and see His glory and we do the act of reading - and ultimately the seeing and savoring of His glory...through which we are transformed day by day.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and I know You are at work in me and giving me the will to read and the eyes and heart to understand Your Word - thank You Jesus!  Amazing and I am truly grateful!  Yet I am undeserving.  My sin...of many kinds...continues.  Please forgive me.  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.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

Pages: 65-73

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter three - Reading to See Supreme Worth and Beauty, Part 1.  Here, Piper seeks to demonstrate the third of six implications that flow from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible (as listed here); the third of the six implications is "that we should always read his word in order to see this supreme worth and beauty[.]" In this chapter, which is the first of three to explore this specific implication, Piper points to both John and Paul to provide scriptural examples that demonstrate that we are to read the Bible "to see [God's] supreme worth and beauty[.]"  

John, in not just his gospel account, but also in his epistles (1, 2, 3 John), sought to help later generations see the glory of God through his writing - using John 1:14, 2:11, 11:40, 14:26, 16:13-14, 20:29-31, and 1 John 1:1-4 to help readers see the connection between reading an eyewitness account of the glory of Christ and "seeing" the glory of Christ. Piper writes that in 1 John 1:1-4, John refers to what was seen or manifest six times...and "[t]he intention that the faith and life he received by seeing the glory of Christ, his readers would also be able to receive by seeing what he saw-the glory of Christ shining through the inspired writing." 

Paul, in Ephesians 3:3-8, "makes a rare and crucial reference to the aim of reading his own epistle." His hope is that "by reading [church in Ephesus] may 'see' or get a glimpse, into what Paul was shown by God."  The "boundless riches of Christ" referenced by Paul is then more fully described by Piper as the riches of the "glory of Christ" and Ephesians 1:18 and Colossians 1:27 help clarify this.  

Piper then encourages us to avoid focusing on specific passages of scripture that help us see God's glory, and supreme worth and beauty, but instead to see the glory of God "in and through all things," and he uses 1 Corinthians 10:31 to help us see "all things in relationship to the glory of God-starting with the most ordinary things, like food and drink." 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and whose glory I see in the Word and with every passing day I can see the Holy Spirit working in and through me to sanctify me and bring You glory.  You pour out Your mercies and blessings every day for me.  Thank You!  Yet I am undeserving.  I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Pages: 55-63

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter two - Reading the Bible toward White-Hot Worship.

Here, Piper seeks to demonstrate the second of six implications that flow from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible (as listed in my previous post); this second implication is that "that the supremely authentic and intense worship of God's worth and beauty is the ultimate aim of all his work and word[.]"  Piper describes the six stages of redemptive history (predestination/Ephesians 1:5, 14, creation/Revelation 4:11, incarnation/Revelation 5:12, propitiation/Revelation 5:9, sanctification/Philippians 1:11, consummation/2 Thessalonians 1:10), demonstrating that, through scripture, worship is the goal of all God's acts. 

Piper then describes authentic and intense, or white-hot worship, writing that "there is a correlation between the measure of our intensity in worship and the degree to which we exhibit the value of the glory of God." We are encouraged to pursue not "lukewarm" relationships with Jesus, but instead ones that display "zeal" and "fervent" worship (Romans 12:11). Another dimension to this zeal and fervent worship is that it is authentic and undivided - there must be no competitors to God nor half-hearted affections. Piper points to the following scripture as evidence:

• Luke 10:27
• Deuteronomy 4:29, 10:12
• 1 Samuel 7:3
• Proverbs 3:5
• Zephaniah 3:14
• Psalms 9:1
  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who gives me inexpressible joy - thank You Jesus - in all things I see Your hand and Your ways and deeds are both perfect and full of love - for me and for all of Your children!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving for all the love and blessings You pour out for me.  I worry...please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

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

 Pages: 15-33, Matthew 13, Ephesians 1

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

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

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

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

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

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus - You are an awesome God and You have given me the gift of faith and Your Word, and You daily reveal Your Word and Your Glory to me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such gifts.  I sin...daily...anger, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.