“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Luke 1

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” Luke 1:46-55

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 2 of Advent where John Piper seeks for us to focus on Mary (Luke 1:48) and Elizabeth's (Luke 1:43) "lowliness and cheerful humility...as they submit to their magnificent God." Piper remarks how Mary "sees" the significance of what God is doing in her life in this moment as she prepares to be the mother of Jesus. These verses (Luke 1:46-55) are also known as The Magnificat - the song of praise Mary sings in this moment - she just cannot fathom how such a great God can do something so extraordinary in her, as she sees herself as unworthy of such a blessing.  It is this humility that drives Mary to praise God. Both Mary and Elizabeth demonstrate something all believers should do in response to seeing the glory of God in their lives - out of the overwhelming feeling of humility how God uses ordinary people such as ourselves - we are to respond with worship and praise of the One True God - Jesus Christ. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of compassion and grace that You would reach down from Heaven and save me!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a blessing.  My sin is great and it continues.  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.

And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Luke 1

And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Luke 1:16-17

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 1 of Advent and Piper provides for us a daily devotion for Advent.  He starts by urging us (using Luke 2:11) to meditate on how we all sin and need a savior.  Piper writes: "[i]f you don’t need a Savior, you don’t need Christmas. Christmas will not have its intended effect until we feel desperately the need for a Savior. Let these short Advent meditations help awaken in you a bittersweet sense of need for the Savior." Next, he encourages (using Psalm 139:23-24) us to examine our hearts and make room in our hearts for Jesus. He then moves to inspire us to "build God-centered anticipation and excitement into [our] home." He wraps the devotion by stirring us to "be much in the Scriptures," in particular through scripture memorization.  He ends by referring us to Jeremiah 23:29 as he wants us to "[g]ather ’round that fire [God's Word] this Advent season. It is warm. It is sparkling with colors of grace. It is healing for a thousand hurts. It is light for dark nights."  What great words for us and a great start to Advent. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what an awesome God You are and I am excited for Advent and the season of Christmas where we celebrate Your birth.  You are worthy of this excitement and all the glory!  I am not deserving of what You do for me.  My sin is great and it continues...fear of man, 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.  Help me 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.

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 9

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:25-26

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper examines Jesus' perfect sacrifice of Himself on the cross, and he contrasts Jesus' sacrifice with that of the Jewish high priests in the Old Testament.  Unlike the Jewish high priests, who "came into the holy place yearly with animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people," Jesus only had to die once - His sacrifice was perfect - done for all humanity for all times.  Piper points out how the author of Hebrews underscores this point by describing how it is "unthinkable" it would be for Jesus to have to sacrifice Himself yearly as the Jewish high priests did in bringing their sacrifices yearly. Piper shares how this is unthinkable "[b]ecause it would make the death of the Son of God look weak and ineffective. If it has to be repeated year after year for centuries, where would be the triumph? Where would we see the infinite value of the sacrifice of the Son of God? It would vanish in the shamefulness of a yearly suffering and death."  Piper then wraps up the devotion with an exhortation to be encouraged and not take "for granted that there should be a welcome for sinners in heaven....There was shame in the cross, but it was triumphant shame. “[Jesus despised] the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). This is the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). I [John Piper] pray that no matter how dirty or unholy with sin you are, you will see the light of this glory and believe."  Be encouraged!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who died for me and for all of humanity for all of time as a perfect sacrifice for my sins - so that I could have life now in abundance and for eternity.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God and such blessings!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  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.  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.

[H]ow much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 9

[H]ow much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:14

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper looks at how our conscience too often condemn us with shame, guilt, feelings of inadequacy that "make us feel unacceptable to God".  We then, in response, implement responses to compensate or "fill the hole" left by our conscience.  Yet Piper rightly points out that these responses are sometimes harmful, and nothing we can do - even works we deem "good" - in this world can do what ONLY Jesus can do.  Unbelievers, accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior and have faith. As Piper puts it: "[t]urn to the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give you relief in life, and peace in death."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me.  You cleanse me, make me one of Your elect, and You clothe me in righteousness - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings...not by a long shot.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please cleanse me, forgive me, and 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.  

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where, in contrast to posts over the past few days that focus on gratitude, John Piper looks at why someone might not have gratitude towards God.  He writes: "[W]hen gratitude does not spring up in our hearts at God’s great goodness to us, it probably means that we don’t want to pay him a compliment; we don’t want to magnify him as our benefactor. And there is a very good reason that human beings by nature do not want to magnify God with thanksgiving or glorify him as their benefactor. The reason is that it detracts from our own glory, and all people by nature love their own glory more than the glory of God." In other words, unbelievers value self-sufficiency and self-glory over that of God.  Of course, believers know they need a Savior and Jesus Christ is that Savior. Piper points us to Mark 2:17 Jesus emphasizes how He says "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - giving me my salvation, Your Word, the Holy Spirit, and SO much more - all out of grace as I am undeserving.  Thank You Jesus!  Yet I know I am undeserving.  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 praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper uses David's words from Psalm 69 to urge us to magnify God.  Piper first draws a distinction between two types of magnification: one where you make a small thing look bigger, and the other where we make a a big thing begin to look as big as it really is.  He writes how the latter is David's intention.  He then urges all believers to magnify God in the same way: "Christians are not called to be con-men who magnify their product out of all proportion to reality, when they know the competitor’s product is far superior. There is nothing and nobody superior to God. And so the calling of those who love God is to make his greatness begin to look as great as it really is." Piper reminds us that we exist for this very purpose, and why we were saved, "to proclaim God's excellencies" (see 1 Peter 2:9). Piper wraps up today's devotion with a response - we must first see God for who He is, to get to know Him, and to do so daily, lest we forget.  He offers two texts to emphasize this response: Ephesians 1:18 (open the eyes of my heart), and Psalm 103:2 (soul, forget not all the benefits).

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You are worthy of magnification - I desire to proclaim Your excellencies because You are infinitely valuable - more so than anything else.  I am not deserving of how You made me one of Your own - Your elect.  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.

[H]e is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7

[H]e is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper ensures we understand that Jesus intercedes and prays for us...today and forever - "our salvation is as secure as Christ's priesthood is indestructible" - as He not only lives forever, but He also intercedes for us forever.  Piper writes: "[t]his means we should not talk about our salvation in static terms the way we often do — as if I did something once in an act of decision, and Christ did something once when he died and rose again, and that’s all there is to it. That’s not all there is to it.  This very day I am being saved by the eternal intercession of Jesus in heaven. Jesus is praying for us and that is essential to our salvation."  Piper refers us to Romans 8:34 and 1 John 2:1 where scripture reinforces how Jesus intercedes and advocates for us as our High Priest.  Be encouraged!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and who intercedes and advocates for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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.