And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

 Mark 1:21-28

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” Mark 1:27

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 1:21-28, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Here's what we see in the text:

• At the start of His ministry, with his first four disciples - Simon, Andrew, James, and John - Jesus "immediately" went to the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath and "was teaching."  The word immediately implies urgency similar to how Simon, Andrew, James, and John felt called to immediately follow Jesus.  Believers should act with urgency based on Jesus' call to serve.   
• Those in the synagogue were "astonished" at Jesus' teaching.  He taught with "authority" unlike anything they had seen - of course Jesus is the Incarnate Son sent by God, so this is no surprise!
• Even the unclean spirit recognized Jesus as the "Holy One of God."
• Jesus' rebuke of the unclean spirit is one of His first miracles 
• Witnesses were all amazed and they began to wonder who Jesus is.  Jesus' "fame" spread throughout the regions surrounding Galilee.     

The question in my mind is whether we as believers, if we are truly being the hands and feet of Jesus, are acting in such way for people to see Jesus in us - mercy, service, love, etc.  People should be attracted to us in a similar way to those in Capernaum who were all amazed at Jesus - we are NOT Jesus but we should be LIKE Jesus and becoming more like Him every day as this is sanctification in action.  If not, this is an opportunity for us as believers to examine whether we are truly abiding in Him and for us to desperately call out to God for us to help us abide in Him.

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My Prayer: Father God, You are amazing and You are the One True God who saves, who transforms hearts and lives, and molds them into more of Your image. Thank You Father God for saving me and transforming my heart and life - I am not deserving as 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.   

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

 Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Ecclesiastes 12:11-12

I continue my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book. My focus today is a commentary-assisted review of the the third division of the text Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14, which is explored in the commentary chapter entitled Aging Is Meaningless without Jesus.  The commentary describes the third division as 12:8-14 with this division entitled Trust in Jesus as Your Savior and Sage.  

Excerpts from the commentary:

• "God imposed a curse on the world to show us the meaninglessness of following our own devices and to drive us to Him.  Thus, the point of Ecclesiastes, like every book of the Old Testament, is ultimately to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:15)." 
• "Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes to shepherd the reader with words that are pleasing, true, convicting, and wise (12:9-10). His words are like goads, spiked sticks that prod cattle down the right path. That has been his intention all along. He gives messianic wisdom to convict us of the meaninglessness of life without God and to drive us to remember our Creator. After all, the image of the “one Shepherd” is only used in reference to the Messiah (see Ezekiel 34:23; 37:24)."
• "Solomon knows the temptation to try anything and everything other than God to find satisfaction, so he has talked about his pursuit of wealth, education, women, pleasure, success, and other things. When all is said and done, God is the only One who can satisfy the human heart."
• "Ecclesiastes ends by saying even the secret things we think are hidden will see the light of day in judgment when we are completely laid bare and exposed before the holy God (v. 14). That’s frightening."
• "We are under condemnation; that’s the bad news. But the good news is that there is one who is greater than Solomon who has come on the scene. He is the Wisdom of God. He does not just teach us messianic wisdom and fail to live up to it; He perfectly lives out the wisdom of God.  And yet the One who perfectly lived out the wisdom of God took the judgment for our folly on the cross. He experienced everything we should experience for falling short of God’s glory. The enemy—the curse of sin and death—will steal our hearing, steal our motor skills, steal our sight, and steal our youthful vigor, but Jesus redeems us by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13)."
• "Life is meaningful because Christ reconciles us to the Creator of life and gives us the ability to be wise. Now, in Christ, we can be satisfied in God alone, rather than loving His gifts more than we love Him."

Love, surrender to, and worship the One True God!

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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 Your Word as a means for You to speak to me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of this, nor any of the blessings You pour out for 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 other 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. 

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent[a] that the Lord set up, not man.

Hebrews 8

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent[a] that the Lord set up, not man. Hebrews 8:1-2

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper seeks for believers to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Today's Solid Joys daily devotion marks day 12  of Advent, and today John Piper uses Hebrews 8:1-2, all of Hebrews in his view, to share "that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has not just come to fit into the earthly system of priestly ministry as the best and final human priest, but he has come to fulfill and put an end to that system, and to orient all our attention on himself, ministering for us first on Calvary as our final Sacrifice and then in heaven as our final Priest."  Piper describes how the "Old Testament tabernacle and priests and sacrifices were shadows. Now the reality has come, and the shadows pass away."  Piper wants us to be full of joy and excitement in Jesus' being our High Priest.  He is able to do what none other can do.  He saves!  Rejoice!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who does what none other can - nothing or no one else compares!  You are the One True God who saves and so much more...Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You saved me and how You continues to 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 said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."

Exodus 3

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." Exodus 3:14

I pause this morning from my studies of Proverbs and Isaiah to listen to DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional - which today focuses on believers' "unspeakable privilege of knowing Yahweh as our Father - I AM WHO I AM[.] The words from God in Exodus are pulled from God's conversation with Moses where God is speaking to Moses in the burning bush and telling Moses to go rescue the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. Moses, feeling quite uneasy and reticent about such a task, asks God what is he to say when those in Egypt ask who sent him. The devotion refers us also to John 8:56-58 and Psalm 9:10 for us to see how Jesus, when responding to the Jews who were questioning Him, refers to Abraham when He tells the Jews “[t]ruly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." In making this connection, Piper wants us to see that we have the "unspeakable privilege" of knowing - in Jesus - the One True God:

• who exists
• whose personality and power is owing solely to himself
• who never changes
• from whom all power and energy in the universe flows
• and to whom all creation should conform its life.
  

We are urged to not only see how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, and to trust in Him.

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My Prayer: Jesus, You are an amazing God - the One True God who created all things, is in all things, is before all things, and who holds all things - including my life - together.  You saved me while I was hostile to You, an enemy - thank You Jesus!  I am of course not deserving of my salvation, nor any of the blessings that You pour out for me daily.  My sin is great and it is daily.  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 me today and every day. 

Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me[.]

Isaiah 44-46

Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me[.] Isaiah 46:8-9

I resumed my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series - today moving on to Lesson 17 day 4 and 5 where I reflect on Isaiah 46 after a read of my commentary's perspective on this chapter.  My commentary offers the following divisions for this chapter:

1. The gods of Babylon are a crushing burden, crushed in the end (46:1-2)
   
2. The incomparable God carries His people from birth to old age (46:3-5)
3. The idols cannot move, neither can they save (46:6-7)
4. Remember the God who plans and orchestrates history (46:8-10)
5. God's plan is to bring salvation near to those far away (46:11-13)

The two key applications recommended by my commentary include:

1. We should not "glibly" assume we have no idols; we should ask God to search our heart and expose them; "anything we put ultimate value on other than Christ is a "functional savior" and an idol
2.  Delight in a God who carries you

The core method God uses to show us the futility of idol worship is a comparison of idols to the One True God and of course NONE compare!  My commentary states very aptly: "[t]hough we may not go to a goldsmith with a bag of gold and ask him to melt it into a golden statue that we worship, our covetousness and materialism are every bit as idolatrous as that....idols are burdens that we carry around, burdens that will crush us someday if we do not cast them off. God has systematically exposed and destroyed all his rivals in every generation."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is like no other - You are the One True God that carries burdens and saves - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You carry burdens and save.  My sin is great and it continues.  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 me today and every day.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

Isaiah 44-46

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. Isaiah 46:11

I resumed my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series - today moving on to Lesson 17 day 3, which examines Isaiah 46. This chapter includes several core messages/applications:

• v1-2: the futility of idols - they cannot carry burdens nor save; Israel's kings and citizens had allowed themselves to fall prey to the religious practices of neighboring countries and disobeyed God's commands to love Him and to not have other gods before Him (see Exodus 20:3-4).
  
• v3-7: none compare to the One True God, the King of Kings who created everything, is before and in everything and holds all things together 
• v8-11: nothing can stop God from accomplishing His will
• v12-13: God promises a remnant of Israel that He will save them - a coming Messiah
  

Of particular note, we should take great comfort in knowing that when God makes a promise - He is faithful and He will accomplish His will.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me and I take great comfort in how You are faithful.  All of Your promises come to pass.  Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness - none compare to You.  I am not deserving of Your faithfulness, nor any of the blessings You pour out for me, including my salvation.  My sin is great and it is 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.

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.

Isaiah 42-44

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people.  Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. Isaiah 44:7

I continue with my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. Today, I wrap Lesson 16 by addressing the questions posed on lesson Day 5, where the focus is Isaiah 44. My commentary outlines the following divisions in this chapter:

1. God promises to pour out his Spirit and create His children (Isaiah 44:1-5)
2. God alone can explain the past and predict the future (44:6-8)
3. God ridicules idol makers (44:9-20)
4. God has swept away our sins like a mist, so rejoice (44:21-23)
5. God raises up Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem (44:24-28)

We must see the stark contrast between God and the false gods called out in this chapter.  While we can stand on God's promises as He is faithful, we, at the same time, must acknowledge how the false gods we often chase fall short of the One True God. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and NONE can compare to You.  You are my Lord and Savior and saved me - while I was still hostile and an enemy to You...thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God.  My sin continues and it is great.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from such a 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.

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

Isaiah 40-41

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isaiah 40:29-31

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. Today, I move on to Lesson 15, Day 4, which looks at Isaiah 41. Here, my commentary outlines the following divisions:

1. The Lord stirs up a conqueror to do his bidding (v1-7)
2. The Lord defeats Israel's enemies (v8-16)
3. The Lord transforms nature and refreshes His people (v17-20)
4. The Lord alone determines and declares the future (v21-29)

Core to this chapter is how Isaiah prophecies how God uses Cyrus from Persia (referred to in v2 as the one from the east) to conquer Babylon - consequently releasing Judah from exile to rebuild the destroyed temple in Jerusalem (536 BC).  This chapter also challenges those who rely on idols and false Gods to equal the One True God - it is God alone that is able to control every aspect of the universe, including both the large and small details in the lives of its inhabitants. Front and center in this chapter is also how God alone protects His elect and how He refreshes and provides.  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me, who protects, refreshes, and provides - and so much more - Your blessings are innumerable and indescribable!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it is 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.