Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

Mark 6:1-5

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” Mark 6:3-4

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 6:1-5, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary - which offers three divisions for this text. Excerpts from the commentary's second (of three) division (vv3-4): 

• The commentary's title for the second division is "When You Consider Jesus, Are You Offended?"
• Those from Jesus's hometown in Nazareth could not grasp His true identity.  The commentary notes that "Jesus’ teachings and miracles do not automatically produce faith." We are referred to 1 Corinthians 1:23 where Paul notes that Christ crucified serves as a "stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles."  
• "In spite of overwhelming evidence [the Nazarenes] will not believe He is the Christ, the Son of God....They knew Him but could not explain Him, so they rejected Him. His hometown, His relatives, even His own household cast their ballot against Him....Sometimes we spend so much time with someone that we no longer appreciate them. For those of us raised in a Christian environment, this is certainly an ever-present danger we must guard against. In a sense we should never get comfortable with Jesus. His goal is not to make us comfortable. His goal is to bring us to repentance and faith, humbly falling at His feet confessing Him as Lord and God. He is not your homeboy, your buddy, or your soul mate. He is not your genie in a bottle obligated to grant your every wish." 

The commentary for the text emphasizes Jesus' identity, and that we should never lose sight of who He is - the One True God.  It is wholly appropriate then that out of reverent fear we rush to Him as our refuge.  He saves!  We must also worship Him with the entirety of our lives (vs animal sacrifice) and seek renewing of the mind through a daily lifelong relationship with Jesus where we go to Him daily in study and reflection on His Word as He renews our minds and makes us more like Him.  As He makes us more like Him, He brings about greater and greater obedience to His will (Romans 12:1-2). 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God You are an awesome God that saves and provides Your Word so that we can know, love, and please You.  Thank You!  I am not deserving of how You save and how You 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 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 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.

Comment and discuss this post.

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!

Comment and discuss this post.

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. 

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 John 5

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.  Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:20-21

I continue my study of 1,2,3 John using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for these books.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of 1 John 5:13-21, focusing specifically on a review of the main idea for the entirety of the text, the commentary's introduction/overview for this text, and the second division - which is "We Can Know What Is True (1 John 5:20-21)."  The commentary shares that "[b]ecause of our union with Christ, we understand the truth of the gospel, we are safe from the claws of the evil one, we know the Father, and we abide 'in the true One—that is, in His Son Jesus Christ.'" The commentary then highlights v21 and how we are warned by John about idols - we are referred to Ephesians 5:5, and Colossians 3:5.  The warning about idols is important because it is so easy to create idols for ourselves.  On this point, the commentary shares: "man's nature....is a perpetual factory of idols (per John Calvin)."  Tim Keller wrote on this subject: "'The ultimate reason for any sin is that something besides Christ is functioning as an alternative ‘righteousness’ or source of confidence—and is thus an ‘idol,’ a pseudo-savior, which creates inordinate desires” (Preaching the Gospel in a Post-Modern World)." The commentary on this text concludes by pointing us to John 4:14 where Jesus tells a Samaritan woman at the well that Jesus offers a living water where those who drink of it will never thirst again, and this living water in believers will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.  Avoid idols and drink of the living water!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for giving me Yourself as I know You offer a living water where I will never thirst again and this living water will well up in me as eternal life - thank You Jesus!  Help me see You as truth and not turn towards idols I make for myself.  You bless me beyond what I deserve.  My sin is great and it 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.

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.

Comment and discuss this post.

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."

Comment and discuss this post.

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.

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. 

Comment and discuss this post.

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.

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare....For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

 Isaiah 54:4-56:8

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare....For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:2, 8

Day 198 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues with my study of Isaiah as God seeks to comfort Israel in exile.  This morning's reading from my commentary* starts with God referring to Israel as his wife - a clear expression of His deep love for Israel (Isaiah 54:4-8). God then references the Great Flood and His covenant with Noah, and He establishes a covenant with Israel just as He did with Noah - "never to rebuke you again...nor my covenant of peace to be removed" (Isaiah 54:9-10).  God then describes the New Jerusalem and how Israel's future security rests in the salvation (from sin/Satan and death) of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 54:11-17). God then describes Israel's restoration and it is of course not an earthly definition of restoration as He exhorts us not "spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy" (Isaiah 55:1-5).  We are then told that our restoration requires our obedience and righteousness (Isaiah 55:6-7, Isaiah 56:1-2).  Restoration is further described as certain (Isaiah 55:8-13) and available to all, including the Gentiles (Isaiah 56:3-8).

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

As Isaiah prophecies the coming of Jesus and all that accompanies Him, we are encouraged to look upon Jesus not as a Savior expected by the world.  Jesus sustains unlike any other - that is why He is the one true God and that is why He is my Lord and Savior.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who sustains all that I am - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving for how You feed and sustain me.  I sin...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.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. v8-10

Both the MacArthur Bible Study Commentary (for purchase) and OverviewBible.com indicate the purpose of 1 John as one where John seeks to ground believers in the early church in who Jesus is and what it means to be a child of God. Much like other books of the Bible that strive to do so, 1 John attempts to ensure that believers are aware of the threat of false teachers.

False teachers, for lack of better words, attempt to redirect our motives and actions towards false gods and idols.

We "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and Jesus is the ONLY one who saves.  There is NO OTHER true God as Jesus is the King of Kings.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who saves me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of salvation and for the love and blessings You pour out for me.  I worry...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.

A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.

Galatians 5

A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. v9

Paul continues to warn the Galatians of false teaching and idols.  Just as Jesus uses parables, Paul uses the leavening power of yeast as an analogy to warn us of the negative influence of allowing even the slightest of false teaching and idols into our lives. The MacArthur Bible Study Commentary (for purchase) indicates scripture's use of this analogy elsewhere including Matthew 16:6, 12,  Mark 8:15, and 1 Corinthians 5:6.

While we are "in" this world we must remind ourselves that we are not to be "of" this world and not to "conform" to the patterns of this world (see also Romans 12:2). We must remain connected with those who strengthen our ties to Christ as the One and Only True God and Gospel.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I am so grateful for the protection You provide through Your Word, the Holy Spirit, the church, and my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Thank You Jesus for helping me build a strong foundation - On You!  I am grateful.  Yet I am undeserving of the many blessings You pour out for me.  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.