To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power[.]

2 Thessalonians 1

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power[.] 2 Thessalonians 1:11

This morning, I focus on John Piper's Solid Joys devotional, where Piper seeks for us to understand both our role and God's role in our resolve or will power to do good works and please God.  While we may believe in the ultimate providence and sovereignty of God in all aspects of our lives, Piper warns us that we should not use this as an excuse to do nothing, thinking that God will do the work and we don't need to do anything.  Piper calls this disobedience. He writes: "[t]he engagement of God’s power never takes the place of the engagement of our will! The power of God in sanctification never makes us passive! The power of God engages itself beneath or behind and within our will, not in place of our will."  He continues by stating "[p]art of the whole process of walking worthy of God’s call is the active engagement of our will in resolving to do righteousness." The bottom line is that we are INVOLVED in resolving...Piper expands on this in a post here.  Key to being involved is a willingness to be used by God - once again building on our "will."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God that accomplished many great things in and through me - I have seen Your hand - thank You God for using me and within, behind and beneath my will!  I am not deserving for how You work in my life and the many blessings that result.  My sins continue - please forgive me for my worry and other sins.  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.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Matthew 5

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

This morning, I focus on John Piper's Solid Joys devotional, where Piper seeks for us to defeat the temptation of sin by focusing not on the gain from sin (from the Great Deceiver), but on a better promise from the Word of God - referencing Ephesians 6:17 where the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, is used as a weapon to kill sin.  Piper writes: "[s]o, when the body is about to be led into a sinful action by some fear or craving, we are to take the sword of the Spirit and kill that fear and that craving. In my experience, that means mainly severing the root of sin’s promise by the power of a superior promise."  Piper then goes on to provide several general examples of God's promises and we are encouraged to satiate ourselves with the Word to draw upon the many of God's promises and how God is faithful in keeping every single one of these promises.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are great and Your promises are great - greater than what anything Satan can attempt to offer and lure us into sin.  Your Word is great and it is powerful!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation, Your Word or the Holy Spirit - all of which You freely provide out of Your amazing grace.  Thank You Jesus!  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 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 you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Isaiah 14

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.  And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Jude 1:20-23

I came back to my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  Today, I focused on Isaiah 14, where we focus on Sheol and its discussion in Isaiah and throughout scripture. In Isaiah 14, we see Sheol (or the realm of the dead) and death coming to meet the Babylonian king, as well as the other godless kings from surrounding lands (v9-10).  We also see how the power of those brought to meet Sheol is brought down or humbled to Sheol's level (v11, 15).  In Isaiah 5:14, we read about death as having an "enlarged...appetite," insatiable in its desire to tempt and entice people into a life of sin and eternal damnation (see also 1 Peter 5:8). In Isaiah 28, we see Jewish leaders in a covenant with death and Sheol - unable to see Jesus as the promised Messiah from Old Testament scripture. Additional scriptural examples from my study point to Luke 16:19-31, and other examples to show how Sheol is not only a place that is reserved for those who refuse Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but also a place of eternal torment where one can only enter but never leave. Believers should not only be thankful for eternal life, but also "snatching [others] from the fire (Jude 1:23)."  Believers are also called to persevere in this life, to endure through suffering, etc. as the joy of this life is simply a foretaste of our true home in Heaven where we experience perfect unity and harmony with God.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are indeed a great God who promises both life to the full now and for eternity - thank You Jesus for Your salvation.  I am grateful...but of course undeserving.  My sins continue...many, including anger, impatience, etc.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sins 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 shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

Romans 8

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Romans 8:33

Today I pause in my study of Isaiah to look at John Pipers Solid Joys (www.desiringgod.com > Features > Solid Joys), where the post for today unpacks the implications of God's justification of us.  In the Exalting Jesus in Romans commentary, Tony Merida states that in Romans 8:31-39 Paul's focus is for us to celebrate the security of God's love for us.  When we are saved, it is God who does the saving (Ephesians 2:8) as He welcomes us into His family as one His elect. In Romans 8:33, Piper, in his devotion, encourages us to see that first, it is GOD who has elected us - not any earthly power and not any divine power but the God of the Universe and the King of Kings!  There is no higher power!  Piper then wants us to see that such a declaration of our election and of how God sees us as justified in His eyes, then no one can take this away or overturn such a decision that God has made.  We are justified in God's eyes - end of story.  Piper writes: "[i]f God is the one who acquits you — declares you righteous in his sight — no one can appeal; no one can claim a technicality; no one can call for a mistrial; no one can look for other counts against you. God’s sentence is final and total."  The implication (and application) Piper wants us to see is "unshakable security" in the face of suffering or whatever the world throws at us.  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You have made me one of Your family, one of Your elect and I am justified in Your eyes and with this I gain great peace, security, confidence, etc. - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings - my sin of worry, anger, etc. 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.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of [Babylon], my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.[”]

Isaiah 13

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of [Babylon], my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.[”] Revelation 18:4-5

I continue with my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  Today, I focused on Isaiah 13, where based on the Word, my study focus through a review of the Isaiah edition of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary - Series, I can clearly see God's anger with Babylon not just in history but also looking forward with how Babylon represents a world focused on sin - see also John Piper on this latter focus on Babylon in Revelation.  In Isaiah 13, we see God angry at sinners, specifically calling out the arrogant and ruthless. Isaiah prophecies both Babylon's destruction not just in the near future from Isaiah's time but also permanently during the end times. The Isaiah edition of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary - Series for Isaiah uses Revelation, with its focus on end times, and refers to Babylon in 18:4-5, where believers are warned to not be drawn to the sinful ways of Babylon. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has saved me from destructive forces - thank You Jesus!  I am blessed!  I am undeserving however as I often continue in my sin.  Please forgive me - worry, etc.  Help me turn from and overcome my 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.

Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.

Isaiah 13-14

Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. Isaiah 13:17

I came back to my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  Today, I continued by starting a review of Isaiah 13-14, where the focus is on God's anger with Israel's neighbors, starting with Babylon. Isaiah prophecies that Babylon will lay siege of Jerusalem and this comes to pass in three stages starting in 605 B.C.  Babylon will ultimately fall to Medes and we can see how God rises up one group to punish another whether that be either of the divided kingdoms (Israel or Judah) or one of the surrounding nations.  Regardless, it must be clear that it is God's hand, not the might or power of a king or its kingdom or army (see also this recent post).  Note how we see in Isaiah 13:17 how it is God that stirs up the Medes against Babylonia. God reigns. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You reign - Your Providence stretches from the beginning of time to the end of time - for all times.  It also stretches into the all corners of the universe - You reign!  You also have blessed me - in indescribable and unimaginable ways...despite my hostility towards You and my sin.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your blessings and love.  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.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

Revelation 1

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Revelation 1:5b-6

Today, I pause from my study of Isaiah (using the ) to focus on a study of Revelation where I am participating in a disciple group on Monday nights - we are using a study authored by Stephen Witmer.  For today, my focus is the Overview (Chapter 1) where we get acquainted with the book of Revelation at a high level to understand broad themes that will be looked at more closely in subsequent chapters.  From the study guide, the key verse is 1:5b-6 where John praises Jesus.  My aim is to memorize this text in time for Monday night when I gather with my disciple group.  I am going to break down the text as follows:

1. To him who (a) loves us and (b) has freed us from our sins by his blood and (c) made us a kingdom...
2. ...(d) priests to his God and Father...
3. ...to him be glory and and dominion forever and ever

Jesus blessed us with (a), (b), (c), and (d) and therefore is worthy of glory and dominion forever and ever!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and who HAS blessed me with Your love, freedom from my sins, election as chosen for Your Kingdom (eternally), and by making us priests with direct access to You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit!  You are worthy of praise and I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin continues - including 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.