Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31

I maintain a pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I continue using DesiringGod.com's Advent devotions where I pick up on Day 22.  Here, John Piper seeks to awaken the souls of all believers who, at least from time to time, maintain a sense of spiritual lethargy upon a reading of the Christmas story.  Piper shares: "You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.  How dead we are! How callous and unfeeling to your glory and your story, O God! How often have I had to repent and say, 'God, I am sorry that the stories men have made up stir my emotions, my awe and wonder and admiration and joy, more than your own true story.'"  Piper continues as he prays: "Oh, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you; for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God." He then describes how likely it will be at the end of times, when things get really crazy, chaotic and scary, that we will be surprised how we could ever have had any emotional dead-ness in the face of such an unimaginable portrait of God throughout all of redemptive history.  Piper concludes the devotion with: "[t]hese things are written — the whole Bible is written — that we might believe — that we might be stunned and awakened to the wonder — that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world." We should all pray that we always have a sense of wonder and excitement when we encounter the Word the God.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and I am grateful for a sense of excitement and wonder you have given about Your Word.  Yet I know there is more work to do - 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.

 

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31

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 22 of Advent, and today John Piper seeks to stir awe and wonder in the hearts of believers who may have lost such feelings towards the gospel after hearing it again and again, perhaps as a result of growing up in the church.  Piper draws an analogy of awe and wonder we sometimes have as a result of movies we watch and he correctly states that this awe and wonder means that we are capable of these feelings, and that we must bring them to bear upon hearing of the gospel. He writes: "[w]hen Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come into the world” (John 18:37), he said something as crazy and weird and strange and eerie as any statement in science fiction that you have ever read. Oh, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you; for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God." For believers (nearly all or perhaps all) who have been in this state from time to time, we should recite the same prayer.

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My Prayer: Jesus, You are an awesome God, worthy of awe and wonder every moment of every day - You came into the world to save me - amazing and what a blessing - the greatest gift of all time.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a blessing.  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.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved[.]

Ephesians 2

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved[.] Ephesians 2:4-5

I continue my pause of a deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series, to study Ephesians for 3 days per week as I participate in a Discipleship (D) Group that is part of my church. This morning, I maintain a focus on Ephesians 2 as I review the following videos - Ephesians 2:1-3 - Part II and Part III - from DesiringGod.com.  Part II focuses on our pre-conversion spiritual condition - "dead" as v1 indicates. Piper wants all believers, regardless of when and how we came to faith, and how we may recall our pre-conversion life, to fully appreciate that ALL of us were spiritually dead.  Yes there is activity and non-believers may indicate that what the world defines as life exists, but this life is a hopeless condition that leads to eternal damnation (sons of disobedience, children of wrath - v2-3).  Piper elaborates - using 2 Corinthians 4:4, and Ephesians 4:17-18 - how even very smart unbelievers are "spiritually blinded", in darkness, and how their hearts are hardened to seeing the glory of God in the gospel. Part III builds on Part II to further define our pre-conversion spiritual condition of "deadness." He reminds us - using Romans 3:23, 1 Kings 8:46, Psalm 143:2, and 1 John 1:8 - that not a single person amongst all of humanity is without sin. He then uses Ephesians 5:6-8 (darkness), Ezekiel 36:26 (hardened heart), and Romans 8:5-9 (unable to submit to God), 1 Corinthians 2:14 (unable to accept nor understand gospel) to elaborate and further detail our "deadness" before and without Christ.  Clear applications this morning are for believers to be humble and recognize God's amazing grace, for without Christ we would all continue to walk in darkness - not a life any of us wants.

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My Prayer: Jesus, what an amazing God You are that You saved me from my spiritual deadness!  Thank You Jesus - what amazing grace this is!  Of course, I am not deserving of such love and grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Gossip, 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.  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 anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5

...[F[or anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14

This morning, until I start a new Bible study, I continue using devotionals from John Piper.  Today, the post focuses on the power of God to command us to give us rebirth in Jesus. Piper explains that we "first experience the divine gift of life and breath, and then to do what living, breathing people do: cry out to God in faith and gratitude and love. When the command of God comes with the creating, converting power of the Holy Spirit, it gives life. And we believe and rejoice and obey."  We are provided several scriptures that illustrate this process of how God's commands give us new life from our spiritual deadness:

• John 11:43-44
• Deuteronomy 10:16 and 30:6
• Ezekiel 18:31 and 36:26
• John 3:7 and 1 Peter 1:3 
  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You gave me new life...a new heart, a heart of flesh - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God.  My sin is daily - 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.