For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

I continue my study of 1 Corinthians.  I am assisted in my study by the Christ-Centered Exposition Series commentary for this book.  Today my focus is a review - unaided by the commentary - of 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. Here the emphasis is the contrast in how God's wisdom (the Word) saves and has power - even as God uses ordinary and weak people as vessels through which He delivers the Word - in contrast to worldly wisdom and power which God manifests in kingdoms that are brought low and humbled at His will.  The text starts today by describing how God's Word is "folly" to those who spurn its teachings but the Word is God Himself and it is power for believers (John 1:1). The text then rhetorically challenges us to look elsewhere in the text where we may identify wisdom in the world, but are challenged us to see how God is the source of wisdom and how God both raises up those in power and also tears them down - all at His whim.  The text continues to state how God is not known through worldly wisdom, but instead through humans to whom God reveals Himself - ordinary and weak people such as Peter - and how God uses ordinary and weak people to save.  The world often seeks "signs" and "wisdom" just as the Jews and Greeks did (v22), but Christ - who died and rose again - and His Word is all that is need by those who are called and believed through faith.  This is of course very hard to understand by those who don't believe and that is the point - belief and faith is through God alone who chooses to reveal Himself to whom He chooses - not through any wisdom that is gained through human effort - it is divine!  We should be thankful that God chose us not through our own effort but through grace and election at God's will alone.  I am drawn to Isaiah 55:8 where it is written how God's ways and thoughts are not easily understood by the weak human mind - however sharp it may be by earthly standards. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who IS wisdom, gives wisdom, and who saves - all by grace.  Thank You for my salvation and for the wisdom You provide to guide me as a lamp for my feet and life. I am not deserving of my salvation and for the wisdom You alone provide.  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.  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.

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

Romans 10

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Romans 10:1

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at how we pray for unbelievers - similar to yesterday where John Piper sought to help us see what kind of prayer pleases God. Piper looks at Romans 10, where Paul - a Jew - seeks to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Israelite nation. He points out that Paul does not pray for "ineffectual influences, but for effectual influences," and that we should pray as such. Effectual influences are described (not exhaustively - see also this post) as promises of God and examples from scripture provided by Piper include:

• God, take out of their flesh the heart of stone and give them a new heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 11:19)
• Circumcise their heart so that they love you! (Deuteronomy 30:6)
• Father, put your Spirit within them and cause them to walk in your statutes. (Ezekiel 36:27)
• Grant them repentance and a knowledge of the truth that they may escape from the snare of the devil. (2 Timothy 2:25–26)
• Open their hearts so that they believe the gospel! (Acts 16:14) 

The implication here is that while we can pray for positive earthly influences for unbelievers (a gospel-centered church, Godly friends and disciple-makers, etc.), there is no substitute for God in how He is sovereign and provident over election and salvation.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus - You are so good and You saved me - pursuing me and giving me a new heart of flesh - that I can desire and seek You.  Thank You Jesus!  Amazing grace - of course I am not deserving.  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 for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior - circumcise their heart so that they love you!  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 becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness[.]

Hebrews 7

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”  For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness[.] Hebrews 7:15-18

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. This morning, my focus is on Hebrews 7:11-22, as I lean on my commentary, and how it unpacks the third division "The Eternal Priesthood of the Son," which refers to Hebrews 7:15-18.  Here, the commentary highlights two key points in the text.  First, Jesus's priesthood is not based on "bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life" (v16).  The commentary shares that "[s]omething infinitely greater and eternally superior (than bodily descent) qualifies him for the position—namely, an indestructible life."  The text and the commentary then pivots to shortcomings in the law and how obedience to the law is always insufficient for our salvation - works cannot save anyone, only Jesus can.  Examining the language of the text, the law may always be useful (2 Timothy 3:16-17) but it is weak in its regard to save.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and You accomplished what obedience to the law never can - my salvation!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation.  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.

I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Isaiah 61-63

I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. Isaiah 63:7

I resume my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  My study of Isaiah moves on to day 5 (of 5) of week 22, which looks at Isaiah 61-63.  Day 5 focuses on a more detailed examination of how Isaiah 63 depicts judgement day.  My study includes comparisons of Isaiah 63 to Isaiah 61:2, 59:15-16, Joel 3:9-17, Zechariah 14:1-19, Revelation 14:14-20, and 19:11-16.  My study urges me, and all believers to live a holy, Godly life, maintaining faith and trust in God as I prepare for judgement day.  Isaiah 63:7 helps in this regard by constantly reminding myself of all the blessings God has poured out for me - and His steadfast love and compassion. My study also refers me to 2 Peter 3:11-12 as preparation for judgement day:

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father Jesus, You are an amazing God and You are judge and justice - and Your justice is perfect and You are perfect in all of Your ways.  We cannot fully appreciate Your ways and thoughts and know as we live an earthly life, but we can rest knowing that You alone are our refuge, now and forevermore!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love, grace, and compassion.  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.  Help me serve You, my family, my church and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

Romans 9-10

But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Deuteronomy 30:14 

 

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I started chapter fourteen The Faithful Evangelist, which covers Romans 9:30-10:21.  My focus today is Romans 10:5-10:13, which my commentary refers to under the heading The Necessity of Faith in Christ.  As Paul continues (see post yesterday and previous posts) to describe how with Christ faith alone provides salvation, he describes how our heart condition is key to salvation (v9-10). Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30:14 and the words Moses communicated to Israel as he described "[h]ow to love God and keep His commandments" and communicated various important encouragements and warnings associated with walking with God. The verses this morning include one of the most quoted in all of the Bible as many refer to it as key to a believer answering the call from God to believe (ie: altar call):

 

[I]f you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:9-10

 

My commentary this morning points additional Old Testament references by Paul in v10:5-13, including Leviticus 18:5 (10:5), and Deuteronomy 9:4 and 30:12-13 (10:6-7). The commentary indicates that Paul inserts "Christ" into his reference of Deuteronomy 30:12-13 and his discussion of how God and the Word is not "far off" and inaccessible and how we are only able to access God through Christ and not of our own doing: "[w]e cannot descend and be raised on our own, but Christ has done it for us!" Similarly, the commentary points out how in v10: 6 Paul partially uses Deuteronomy 9:4 but inserts language specific to the New Covenant based on Christ: "[i]n Deuteronomy 9:4 God says that Israel is not going to enter the land because of their righteousness but because of his promise--that is because of God's grace and faithfulness.  Saving faith recognizes that righteousness does not come from ourselves, for we cannot keep God's law perfectly; it is by God's grace alone through faith alone that we are saved."  We are encouraged to look back on Romans 10:2 where our heart should demonstrate "zeal for God". My commentary then points to how Paul uses yet another Old Testament reference in v10:11 by quoting Isaiah 28:16. Finally, in v10:13, Paul uses a reference from Joel 2:32. In v10:12-13, we are reminded by Paul that believers are to come from all nations. The commentary ends by encouraging us to see how it is ONLY through belief in Jesus that we are saved - emphasizing that other views such as those from Universalists are to be rejected. We are to snatch others from the fire with a sense of urgency and focus on how this is done - through God alone.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and You alone save - thank You Jesus for willingly surrendering Your life so that I can have salvation and life to the full among the many riches You provide as a child of God.  I am not deserving of salvation and these riches - I worry...far too much.  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.

I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 119

I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. v16

Jesus tells us that "[b]lessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)." It is also written that:

1. We will find God when we seek Him with all of our heart (Jeremiah 29:13).
2. Faith and salvation are through God alone - and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Lord Jesus, please help me deepen my desire for You and my faith.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are indeed a great God and You have deepened my faith and desire for You.  Thank You Jesus.  But I continue to be broken and I want more.  I worry and I want to rid myself of 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 do.  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.