The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Pages: 99-115

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Psalms 19:7-11

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter six - Reading to Savor His Excellence, Part 1. Here, Piper seeks to continue unpacking the fourth of six implications that flow from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible (as listed here);this implication is "that we should aim in all our seeing to savor his excellence above all things."  It is not enough to simply read the Bible to see God's glory, we must savor - of course Piper rightly states that "seeing precedes savoring." He further explains that "seeing the glory of God as we read the Bible should never be an end in itself.  We read in order to see in order to savor.  We seek insight in order to enjoy."  He then points out that this our savoring may include not just pleasant emotions, but also "painful emotions" that lead to savoring. Piper's writes that the process through which we savor God's glory through reading/seeing is a two-step process - the first of which is covered in this chapter.  And in this chapter specifically, "[s]criptures encourage us to pursue joy in God generally[.]"

Piper provides six arguments that scripture encourage us to pursue joy in God:

1. "we are commanded to be joyful in God" (Psalms 37:4, 32:11, 100:1-2, Philippians 4:4, 3:1, Matthew 5:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:16, etc.)
2.  "God threatens us with trouble if we don't pursue satisfaction in God" (Deuteronomy 28:47-48, 2 Corinthians 9:7, 1 Peter 5:2, Psalm 100:2)
3. "saving faith contains joy in God" (John 1:11-12, Matthew 13:44, John 6:35, etc.)
4. "evil is forsaking happiness in God" (Jeremiah 2:12-13, Romans 1:22-23)
5. "deny the self every comfort that would diminish joy in Christ" (Mark 8:34-36, Hebrews 11:25-26, etc.)
6. "love for people presses us on to pursue our joy in God" (1 Corinthians 13:3, Acts 20:35, 2 Corinthians 9:7)
7. "God is glorified in us when we are satisfied in Him" (Philippians 1:20-21)
   

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus, Your glory is amazing and I see it in all things and I see it in my life - You are worthy of my praise and worship - white hot worship and praise to that.  You bless me immeasurably and Your mercies for me never cease.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such mercies and blessings.  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.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Pages: 87-98

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. John 12:37:41

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter five - Reading to See Supreme Worth and Beauty, Part 3. Here, Piper continues with 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 third of three to explore this specific implication, Piper seeks to make it explicit that "we should always read God's word in order to see his supreme worth and beauty," emphasizing the word "always." He states straight-away that "the relationship between God and all things is such that nothing can be rightly understood apart from its connection with God.  And since God intends for scripture to be rightly understood, therefore, we should always aim to see everything in it in relation to God."

Piper seeks to demonstrate the above statement by pointing to scriptures that state:

• God is the origin and ground of all things (Hebrews 2:10, 1 Chronicles 29:14, Revelation 4:11)
• God owns all things (Psalms 89:11, 24:11)
• God holds all things in being (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17, Acts 17:28)
• God designs the purpose of all things (Proverbs 16:4)
• God governs all things according to his will (Ephesians 1:11, Psalms 119:91)
• God's purpose in creation is to make all things new (Revelation 21:5)
• God appointed his Son heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2)
• God is the end and goal of all things (Hebrews 2:10, Romans 11:36)
  

Similar to my post yesterday, Piper points to 2 Corinthians 4:4, 6 to see how we are to "aim" to read the Bible "to see, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the glory of the Father and the glory of the Son, which are one glory." Piper also uses John 12:36-43 while stating that "wherever the glory of God shines forth in the Bible, it is not just the glory of the Father, but also the glory of the Son, for they are one glory."

Piper wraps up this chapter (as well as the preceding two) by writing that "in all the details of what we find in the Bible-Old Testament and New-the aim of reading is always to see the worth and beauty of God."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is always showing Your glory in Your Word, in creation, and in every moment of every day of my life - You are worth my ceaseless praise and worship and You bless me immeasurably!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You saved me and bless 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.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Pages: 75-86, 2 Corinthians 3:6-4:7

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter four - Reading to See Supreme Worth and Beauty, Part 2. Here, Piper continues with 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 second of three to explore this specific implication, Piper seeks to demonstrate that through the Bible as a whole - both Old Testament and New Testament - God reveals his glory. 

As his key scriptural evidence for such a claim, Piper uses 2 Corinthians 3:6-4:7.  Here Paul writes that the glory of God existed in the books of Moses just as they do today in the entirety of the New Testament, not just in the Gospel books. Within this text, Piper shows how the glory of God is revealed in the Old Testament but it is temporary surpassed by the greater glory of Jesus Christ.  Piper also points to how "Jewish readers in Paul's day were...spiritually blind...[and] Paul compares the Jewish readers of his day to the generation at Mount Sinai," quoting Exodus 34:34-35. Piper continues: "Moses...lifted the veil when he turned to the Lord in the tent of meeting...[and] the point I want to stress is that the occasion for seeing the glory of God-or not seeing it-is the act of reading the Scriptures....[t]he veil, the hardening, kept out the peculiar glory of God."  Piper emphasizes that "not everyone sees the glory of the Lord in the gospel" and he specifically uses 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, pointing out that "the same blindness that kept Israel from the seeing of the peculiar glory of God in the Mosaic covenant is still at work blinding people to the glory of Christ in the gospel."  But just as God hardens hearts, He softens them and reveals his glory as Piper points to 2 Corinthians 4:6 to show God's role in lifting the veil. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus, You are an awesome God and I see Your glory every day, in scriptures, in creation, and elsewhere in my life and in the lives of others.  How magnificent You are!  You bless me immeasurably - thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not deserving for how You bless me.  I worry....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.

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.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy[.]

Pages: 37-53

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy[.] 1 Peter 1:8

This afternoon, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering the Introduction to Part 1: The Ultimate Goal of Reading the Bible and chapter one - Reading the Bible toward God's Ultimate Goal. 

Piper starts by stating that "our ultimate goal in reading the Bible is that God's infinite worth and beauty would be exalted in the everlasting, white-hot worship of the blood-bought bride of Christ from every people, language, tribe, and nation."  Piper extends this by drawing out six implications "that flow from this," including:

1. "the infinite worth and beauty of God are the ultimate value and excellence of the universe;
2. that the supremely authentic and intense worship of God's worth and beauty is the ultimate aim of all his work and word;
3. that we should always read his word in order to see this supreme worth and beauty; 
4. that we should aim in all our seeing and savoring his excellence above all things; 
5. that we should aim to be transformed by this seeing and savoring into the likeness of his beauty, 
6. so that more and more people would be drawn into the worshiping family of God until the bride of Christ-across all centuries and cultures-is complete in number and beauty."

The remainder of chapter one focuses on how from "eternity[-past] to eternity[-future] - in predestination, creation, incarnation, propitiation, sanctification, and consummation-the Bible makes explicit that God's ultimate aim in all things is the revelation and exaltation of his glory."  In the next chapter, Piper explores and discusses implication #2.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and deserving of authentic and intense worship from me and all of Your children. You bless me every day with mercies that abound!  Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not deserving.  I too often allow myself to be distracted by the things of this world - please forgive me!  Help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn 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        
  

Comment and discuss this post here.

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.