But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:16

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at how God is proud of believers.  John Piper writes this devotion with a genuine desire to please God with his life and to make Him proud.  He writes how this is possible based on reasons in Hebrews 11, specifically in 11:16 where it is explicit that - referring to those in the hall of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 - God is not ashamed to be called their God. The first reason in the text is that God is proud because he has prepared for them a city.  Piper emphasizes here that God has done something for believers - He has prepared and saved a place for them in Heaven.  The second reason emphasized by Piper how God is proud is because of believers desire - that they desire a better country - Heaven.  We are urged by Piper to desire Heaven more so than anything else - more than anything the world could ever offer.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I am grateful this morning for my salvation - that You have prepared and saved a place in Heaven for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor for the place You are saving for me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus 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.  

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Romans 4

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20-21

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at "faith for the impossible."  In this devotion John Piper refers us to Paul's text in Romans 4 where Paul highlights Abraham as the model for our faith.  Abraham believed in the promises offered by God in the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12), "in spite of all human evidences to the contrary."  God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, even though Abraham was about a hundred years old and his wife Sarah was barren.  Piper describes how Romans 4:20-21 highlights Abraham's faith as it "glorified God [and]...called attention to all the omnipotent, supernatural resources of God that would be required to fulfill it." As I posted yesterday, Hebrews 11 examines faith and how this well known text (aka Hall of Faith), defines faith (Hebrews 11:1) as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  Related to faith is worry - something God wants us to avoid.  Worry makes us anxious, and causes us to be impatient or frustrated if things don't go as expected. We all have hopes, concerns, trials, etc. but we can rest (as Abraham) in knowing that God loves us, is faithful and good, always at work in our lives, and able to do what He promises.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, I know You are good and able and I can rest in Your faithfulness and power.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me. 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]n you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Genesis 12

[I]n you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12:3c

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at how those who believe in Christ "and follow him in the obedience of faith are Abraham’s descendants and heirs of his covenant promises."  In this devotion, John Piper starts by sharing how, even though in Genesis 17:4 God promises to Abraham that he will be "father of a multitude of nations," God intends for people throughout the world in redemptive history following Abraham that believers "would somehow enjoy the blessings of sonship even though physically unrelated to Abraham."  Piper refers us to Galatians 3:29 where Paul makes the same claim. The implication is that if we share the faith of Abraham, then it would not matter where we live or where we are born.  The key of course is sharing the faith of Abraham, who was obedient to God to the point of being willing to sacrifice his own son Issac.  In Romans 4:20-21, Paul describes this faith as "[n]o unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." We are urged to have such faith - again, similar to my post yesterday where I highlighted Hebrews 11:1, "assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Piper wraps today's devotion by sharing "why Abraham could obey God even when obedience looked like a dead-end street. He trusted God to do the impossible — like raise his son from the dead."  We should all trust God to do the impossible.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are good and You are able to do all, of course the impossible - You reign over all things...and You are so good to me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love. 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 do not nullify the grace of God[.]

Galatians 2

I do not nullify the grace of God[.] Galatians 2:21a

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at grace and faith, and how we can live Christian lives that magnify grace - rather than nullifying it.  John Piper shares that "[f]aith calls all attention to grace and magnifies it, rather than nullifying it." While Piper provides a personal story from childhood to illustrate his message to magnify grace, I am drawn to Hebrews 11, aka the "hall of faith."  Here, we see examples from the Old Testament of those noted for their faith, which is defined as (Hebrews 11:1) "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Upon review of Hebrews 11 this morning, the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis 4 sticks out how "the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard" (Genesis 4:4-5). Cain grows angry, and out of love and grace for him God seeks to comfort Cain by saying: “[w]hy are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” This post from DesiringGod.com looks at the story of Cain and Abel and shares how we are to seek faith-fueled offerings and Cain is seen as comparing himself to his brother and looking to the world for affirmation when instead we should be looking to God for affirmation and seeking to please Him.  We must remind ourselves constantly that there is nothing we can do in our own power to please God - we depend entirely on Him.

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My Prayer: Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and mercy and 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.

[T]hey shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

2 Chronicles 12

[T]hey shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 2 Chronicles 12:8

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at text in the Old Testament where God shows Solomon's son Rehoboam mercy in bringing a prophet Shemaiah to him to warn him of punishment God was about to deliver for abandoning Him for foreign gods (2 Chronicles 12:1-5). In response to Shemaiah's message, Rehoboam humbled himself and repented of his sins (v6). In turn, God delivered Rehoboam from the hand of his attackers (v7). However, Rehoboam was placed in the service of his attackers (Egypt and its King Shishak - v8), and Piper uses this text to illustrate how God wants us to see how service to Him is not burdensome but joyful and we do it not because God needs anything (He doesn't), but because it is life giving.  Piper shares that [t]he point is plain: serving the enemy and serving God are very different. How so? Serving God is a receiving and a blessing and a joy and a benefit. Serving Shishak is exhausting and depleting and sorrowful. God is a giver. Shishak is a taker." To bolster his point, Piper refers us to Acts 17:25 where Paul is speaking and he is explicit in describing how God does not need anything. Piper also provides Psalm 100:2 where it is written that we are to "[s]erve the Lord with gladness." 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are great and You provide for all of my needs and Your mercies are new every morning.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You 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 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.

[B]y grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2

[B]y grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at how the New Testament bounds faith and grace together so that we understand God's grace is solely the fruit of faith. We also must understand that faith is not the fruit of our own efforts, thereby we have no basis to boast about what we have done as it is God alone is His sovereignty over all things that acts to give us faith and His grace. To further amplify his exhortation that we not boast about what God has done, John Piper points us to 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 where Paul seeks for the church in Corinth to remain humble and boast only in the Lord.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You have done great things, including giving me faith, continuing a sanctifying work in me, and giving me blessings abundant, including brothers and sisters in Christ that point me to You and encourage me in my faith.  Thank You Jesus!  I am undeserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues.  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.

But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

1 Samuel 2

But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. 1 Samuel 2:25b

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at how God sometimes goes against His will, and in this case His will is "to seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). In today's devotion, John Piper uses the story of Eli's worthless sons from 1 Samuel 2 to illustrate his takeaway. He starts by describing from the story that "[t]he sons of Eli the priest would not obey their father when he rebuked them for their sin."  He then unpacks how there are three points we should see from the text.

1. It is possible to sin so long and so grievously that the Lord will not grant repentance. See also 2 Timothy 2:25, Hebrews 12:17, and Luke 23:43.
2. Sometimes God does not permit a sinning person to do what is right.
3. Sometimes our prayers for God’s revealed will to be done will not be done because God has decreed something different for holy and wise purposes.
   

Piper wraps the devotion by offering words of encouragement when we cry out to God for God to save someone, as I have my son Zach.  We are urged to see how God does love us and that we can trust in Him that He is working and while I may not see what He is doing - He is working and He DOES love us. Today's devotion goes hand in hand with yesterday's post and its focus on patience. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and mercy me - and I know You are always at work for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You work in my life.  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.