...[H]e died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

 2 Corinthians 5:15

...[H]e died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:15

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 50-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #32: To Enable Us to Live for Christ and Not Ourselves.  In today's devotion, Piper unpacks a truth that he says troubles some - that "Christ died to exalt himself."  Some may view this as vanity but Piper dispels this thought.  To unpack this truth, the devotion first shares that "[t]he very essence of sin is that we have failed to glorify God—which includes failing to glorify his Son (Romans 3:23). But Christ died to bear that sin and to free us from it. So he died to bear the dishonor that we had heaped on him by our sin. He died to turn this around. Christ died for the glory of Christ."  The devotion then continues by sharing that Christ's death on the cross should be viewed as "the supreme act of love."  As such, it is both an act to exalt Himself and to show His love for this He seeks to save.  Piper then shares: "Christ is unique. No one else can act this way and call it love. Christ is the only human in the universe who is also God and therefore infinitely valuable. He is infinitely beautiful in all his moral perfections. He is infinitely wise and just and good and strong....To see him and know him is more satisfying than having all that earth can offer."  See also Hebrews 1:3.  Paul describes this in Philippians 3:7-8.  When scripture states that "we might live for Him," Piper emphasizes that God does not need our help - see Acts 17:25 and Mark 10:45 - "[w]hat Christ died for is not that we might help him, but that we might see and savor him as infinitely valuable. He died to wean us from poisonous pleasures and enthrall us with the pleasures of his beauty. In this way we are loved, and he is honored. These are not competing aims. They are one." The devotion concludes by pointing us to John 16:7, 14 and John 17:24, which describe how (1) Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help believers glorify Him, and the Holy Spirit is the "greatest help in the world" and another act of love and (2) how Christ's love for us is so great for us that He prayed that those who have faith in Him would join Him in Heaven.  Rejoice in Him who loves us so much that He died for us and gave us help to glorify Him (we exist to glorify Him) and to give us "everlasting enjoyment."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an incredible God that gives us Your Son and the Holy Spirit so that we can enjoy You now as infinitely valuable and for eternity with You.  Incredible - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor the blessings You provide for such everlasting enjoyment.  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 continue to 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 when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.

Matthew 6:5

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Matthew 6:5a-b

I continue my study of The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 5: The Sincerity of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• Sincerity is referred to as "the keystone" and as "fundamental" to one's character.  "This is what we demand of all the higher relationships of life. In the lower relationships sincerity is desirable, but in the higher ones it is absolutely indispensable."
• "There is nothing which so takes the life out of us as the discovery that some one whom we have trusted has been other than what he seemed to be.  The very suspicion that some one whose life is close to us is insincere renders us restless and makes the universe seem insecure."
• "And yet how common insincerity is. What a miserable old humbug of a world we are living in, full of trickery and dishonesty and deceit of every kind."
•  "[Jesus] is a man incapable of a lie. Nothing was so abhorrent to him as falsehood. No other people so stirred his wrath as men who pretended to be what they were not. The most odious word upon his lips was the word 'hypocrite'."
  
•  "It was the sincerity of Jesus which drove him into deadly conflict with the hypocrites. A hypocrite and Jesus cannot live together."
  
• "It was because of Jesus' incorruptible sincerity that we have from his lips such a remarkable outpouring of plain words. You and I do not like plain words. We dare not use them — at least often. We water our words down. We pull the string out of them. We substitute long Latin words for plain, short, Anglo-Saxon words, for by multiplying the syllables we attenuate the meaning. For instance, we say "prevarication' instead of "lie," because falsehood when expressed pompously loses its blackness and grossness. But Jesus would not use words of velvet when words of velvet flattered and deceived. It was his work to help men see themselves as they were. He characterized them by words which accurately described their character."
• "Jesus was incorrigibly sincere, and it was sincerity which drove him to tell men the plain truth."
  
• "There was a strong inducement for him to conceal his extraordinary knowledge. A man makes himself odious by claiming to know more than other men, and by asserting that he can do more than anybody else. It would have been easier for Jesus to adopt the language of the professionally humble people who are always saying that they do not know anything and cannot do anything and do not amount to anything. But Jesus was a man of truth. He could not disguise the fact that his knowledge was unique and that his power was unparalleled. Because he was true he could not hold back the fact that he was the Good Shepherd and the Door, the Bread of Life, and the Light of the World. Nothing but sincerity would ever have driven him to outrage the feelings of his countrymen by assertions so extraordinary. Had he kept silence or pretended to be ignorant on matters on which he possessed full knowledge, he would indeed have been a liar like the very men with whom he was struggling."
  
• "The awful parables of the New Testament are the product of a heart that was uncompromisingly sincere. To speak soft words to men whose feet are hastening down the road to ruin, how was it possible to do it? His very sincerity drove him into language which to our cold hearts seems exaggerated and needlessly abusive. He called the leaders in Jerusalem liars, blind men, fools, serpents, vipers....was it not the duty of Jesus to inform them of their pitiable condition? What else could a sincere friend do?" 
  
•  "It is the calm statement of a horrible fact. The Lord of truth must of necessity use words which accurately characterize the persons who are to be instructed and warned."
  
• Jesus was never accused of falsehoods - instead heresy.  
  
•  "He holds back nothing. What he thinks he says, what he feels he declares. He tones down nothing, he exaggerates nothing. He declares all things as they are. He is not swerved by sin within nor cowed by hostile forces from without. His character is revealed in his speech."
  
• "This, then, is the man we want. A man like this can be a refuge in the time of storm. To him we can flee; when sick at heart, because of the deceptions of the world, we cry out in wretchedness, "Who shall show us any good?" When men disappoint us and friends are few, we can come to one who says, "I am the truth." When we are weary and heavy laden, we can rest our souls upon one who is as certain as the morning and as faithful as the stars."
• "The world is filled with jangling voices and it is hard to know which voice to trust; but his voice has in it something which inspires assurance and quenches uncertainty and doubt." 
  
• "When he says that him that cometh unto him he will in no way cast off, we are certain that if we come we shall be received. When he says, " Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man will hear my voice and open the door I will come in and sup with him and he with me," we are certain of a heavenly guest if we want him. This, then, is why we feel so calm and satisfied with Jesus: he soothes and heals us by being genuine. The heart is always at peace when it rests upon a heart which is sincere."  
  

Indeed very wise words from Mr. Jefferson!  I am left with at least two key takeaways upon reading this chapter of The Character of Jesus.  First, in light of Jesus' sincerity, we can trust in His words and promises - see 2 Corinthians 1:20.  This should give us incredible hope and encouragement to persist, endure and hold steadfast to our faith.  Second, we can trust that God will both reveal our sin to us - by talking plainly to us through the Word and the Holy Spirit - and that He will work in us to make us more like Him as we repent from such sin and turn towards Him.  This latter promise of sanctification, is also one of great hope and encouragement because we should seek to please Him and grow in our obedience to Him - we exist to glorify Him.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are Truth and I can count on You.  You also give me the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to me and to work in me to sanctify me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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.  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 God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves.

Psalms 69

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves. v30-31

We exist to worship and glorify God.

[The people] are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.  Isaiah 60:21

 

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.  1 Corinthians 10:31

 

We often struggle trying to understand God's will for our lives.  Yet God makes it clear that we exist to glorify and worship Him.  This is a good place to start.  God also wants us to know Him so we should be reading and studying God's word.  As we worship and get to know God, we are better positioned to understand God's will for our lives.  

 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

 

We should not struggle with this topic.

My Prayer: Lord, what an awesome God You are...You know all things, You are in all things, You hold all things together, and You are able to do anything...You don't need me but You are able to use me...as broken as I am...for Your glory and my good.  You know everything about me yet You chose me and then suffered and died for me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worthy of such a blessing. I am too easily distracted by the things of this world.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from this sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me grow in my faith. Give me strength. Give Lisa strength. Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

This morning I continue a pause in my study of 1 Corinthians to use DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional.  Here John Piper highlights how Jesus seeks for believers to glorify Him.  Using the end of John 15:5 (and Romans 7:8), Piper starts by sharing how "without Christ, we are capable of no Christ-exalting good." That is how we should see ourselves - as helpless and utterly dependent on Him to bear Christ-glorifying good.  Of course, as believers, we should all seek to glorify Him - because that is why we exist. In the verse for today, Jesus guides us for how we are to glorify Him.  First, we must abide in Him, He then abides in us, and it is then we bear fruit.  Piper then points to vv7-8, where Jesus seeks for us to pray, and Piper shares that God is then glorified.  Piper writes: "[w]e pray!  We ask God to do for us through Christ what we can’t do for ourselves — bear fruit....Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Jesus, You are SO good as You provide all of my needs - thank You!  Of course 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.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. v23-24

We exist to glorify God - it is as simple as that. 

 

[The people] are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.  Isiah 60: 21

 

If we exist to glorify God - if our mission is to glorify God, then we should have a vision to accomplish this, and we should seek God's guidance in prayer to ensure that our plan is aligned with His desires.  If we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and we have sought renewing of the mind by studying and knowing God's word, then we "will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

 

Although we might not welcome tests such as those experienced by Job, we should have no problem asking God to test us, to perfect us, to refine us.  After all, this process will be good for us, pleasing to God and it helps us further our mission which is to glorify Him.

  

God - test me, purify me, refine me.

My Prayer: Lord You are an awesome God full of love and compassion for me...even though I very often lack compassion for others.  Please forgive me!  Thank You for Your patience but I am not worthy.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

1 John 5

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. v14-15

I suspect that these verses are used out of context quite frequently and perhaps not well understood.  For myself, I know I can use a more authoritative view on these verses so here is what John MacArthur says*:

To pray according to God’s will is to pray in accord with what He would want, not what we would desire or insist that He do for us (John 14:13-14). John already specified that answered prayer also depends on obedience to God’s commandments and avoidance of sin (3:21; Psalm 66:18; John 15:7; 1 Peter 3:7). Since genuine believers know God’s Word (i.e., His will) and practice those things that are pleasing to Him, they never insist on their own will, but supremely seek God’s desires (Matthew 27:39–42). He hears us. The word hear signifies that God always hears the prayers of His children (Psalms 34:15–17), but not always in the manner they are presented.

*MacArthur, John F.. The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Kindle Locations 64220-64224). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. 

It is comforting that God hears our cries and responds to all prayers.  

Two takeaways: 
1. God's will is always what we should desire (as we exist to glorify Him) and so we should be motivated to better understand His will (see also Romans 12:2)
2. Sin separates us from God and "hinders" our prayers - so this should motivate us to avoid sin and draw us closer to Him.


My Prayer: Lord You are an awesome God who loves me and who hears and responds to my prayers - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of a God who loves me so - my sin weighs me down and hinders me.  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 sLisa 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.

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Psalm 63

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. v1

We seek from the world what we cannot get - fruit of the spirit, eternal life, forgiveness, life in the full, etc.  Just as Jesus poured out His blood for us, we should pour out our lives for Him.

We need to seek Him daily...to live for Him.  We exist to glorify Him.  Yet for us to glorify Him we must seek Him.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8

[The people] are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.  Isaiah 60:21

 

My Prayer: Lord, in this moment, my whole being DOES long for You...I do thirst for You and I hunger for You.  I don't want to conform to the pattern of this world, instead I want to be transformed.  Renew my heart and mind...I am broken.  I continue to worry and stress about life.  Please forgive me.  I am so thankful that You poured out Your blood for me...You are the greatest gift of all time.  I need You.  Take me and make me Yours in all ways.  I desire to serve and live for You.  Help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and serve You. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

...[Y]ou also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Romans 7:4

 ...[Y]ou also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 50-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #31: So That We Would Die to the Law and Bear Fruit for God.  In today's devotion, Piper  describes how not only did believers' old way of life die on the cross with Christ (see yesterday's devotion), but so did the law of God.  To unpack this claim, Piper first refers us to Romans 4:15 and 3:19 where the text shares that if there is "no law there is no transgression," but in the Old Testament there was law and this law demanded accountability from God.  Piper then points us to Galatians 3:13 where the text describes how Christ became a "curse for us" to free us from "the curse of the law." Piper summarizes this and its implications: "[t]herefore, God’s law cannot condemn us if we are in Christ. Its power to rule us is doubly broken. On the one hand, the law’s demands have been fulfilled by Christ on our behalf.  His perfect law-keeping is credited to our account....On the other hand, the law’s penalty has been paid by the blood of Christ."  Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16, and Romans 3:28 are then provided in the devotion to emphasize that believers' justification by God and reconciliation with God is not based on works - it is by faith in Christ alone.  Piper continues by first highlighting how believers belong to God vs the law (see Romans 7:12), then by rhetorically asking how we please God if we are "dead to his law and it is no longer our master?"  He answers his own question by stating that unlike the OT law that was primarily written "outside" and in stone (ten commandments), believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit within them.  Piper shares: "now righteousness rises within us as a longing in our relationship with Christ. He is present and real. By his Spirit he helps us in our weakness. A living person has replaced a lethal list."  See also 2 Corinthians 3:6-7.  Piper concludes the devotion by leading us to an important implication of no longer belonging to the law as we are referred to Romans 7:4 where the text says that believers died to the law so that we can "bear fruit for God."  Rejoice in no longer belonging to the law and how Christ and the Holy Spirit are within us to please and glorify Him - this is why we exist!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and mercy for me - freeing me from the law so that I could belong to You, You can live in my heart, and You can help me please You - and I know this is why exist - to bring You glory.  Thank You Jesus for saving me and for all of the blessings associated with this salvation.  I am not deserving of my salvation and these blessings.  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 continue to 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.

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 9

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. v3

We often ask ourselves why bad things happen to people - we may sometimes never understand, but generally speaking, we know God is in all things and He is in control.

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:16-18

We exist to glorify Him so we must try and view what is happening in our lives through the lens of how our present circumstances serve to glorify Him - in the present, in the future, and for eternity.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what a great God You are - I have seen how difficult circumstances have glorified You and blessed me and others.  You are amazing and I love You. Thank You for being MY God.  I am not deserving of such a God. 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.

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel."

Malachi 4:1-6

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Malachi 4:4

I continue my study of the last four books of the Old Testament, having already covered Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and most of Malachi.  My study leans on the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series volume which covers these books. This morning I continue with Malachi 4:1-6, focusing on a commentary-assisted review of 4:4.  Excerpts from the commentary's third division for the text 4:1-6:

• Remembering the Law as a Means of Sustaining Present Obedience: We have not only Malachi 4:4, but we also have scripture elsewhere that emphasizes how we are to know, love and follow God as the commentary refers us to Joshua 1:7-9 and Psalm 1:1-3.  These verses provide a "roadmap to success" regardless of what role you play.  Success, of course, is not measured in riches but in terms of obedience to God and how God blesses those who trust and follow Him.   Psalm 1:4 shares how the wicked, those who do not know, fear and follow God are doomed to destruction. 
  

Believers must read, study, meditate on and apply the Word to their lives.  As we (with the help of the Holy Spirit) do these things, God blesses us by (not exhaustive list):

• making us more like Him - He furthers the sanctification process.  The sanctification process reinforces itself as the more we become like Him, the more we desire Him and He increasingly becomes our greatest treasure.
• driving greater obedience to His Word which in turn pleases God; this is of course important because we are His creation and we exist to glorify Him.     

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God You are an awesome God who loves me, and You give me the Word, and the Holy Spirit to give me greater understanding of Yourself and Your desire for me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of You save and how You provide Your Word and the Holy Spirit.  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 continue to 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.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Romans 7

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I moved on to chapter nine Wretched Man, Wonderful Messiah, which covers Romans 7.  My focus today is Romans 7:1-6.  In these six verses, Paul builds on chapter 6 (see post yesterday and previous posts) he writes how believers are no longer slaves or dead to sin but are reborn and alive in Christ. He helps unpack this by helping us see how through an earthly death, you may experience freedom from the law (see v1-3).  Now, Paul wants us to better understand both the benefit of dying to sin and being alive in Christ but also the purpose - we escape condemnation and we "bear fruit for God" (v4). 

We exist to bear fruit for God - to glorify Him...and why would not desire to for all that He has done for us!

My commentary reminds me that for Jews in Rome reading Paul's letter, that Paul seeks to confirm with them that all scripture matters, and that Christ is the fulfillment of the law.  He does not want Jews to not believe as he "weeps over Jewish unbelief." The commentary goes on to encourage us to see the application as believers are no longer "wed" to the (Mosaic) law as our old selves died when Christ died on the cross for us and we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior.  We are wed to Christ and in union with Christ (see this post).  We are also to see the consequences or benefit of this union as fruit of the Spirit. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who rescued me from my sin and gave me new life!  Thank You Jesus! The greatest gift of all time - I am undeserving of such a gift and of all the blessings You pour out for me.  I have anger and other sins that continue every day.  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 am gentle and lowly in heart[.]

Matthew 11:29

I am gentle and lowly in heart[.] Matthew 11:29b

I continue my study of The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 20: The Humility of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• "[Matthew 11:29] is unique in the Gospel.  There is nothing else at all like it....here for the first time [Jesus] calls attention to one of his characteristics....[and he uses this moment] to teach [his followers] humility."
•  "Possibly no other virtue in the catalogue of Christian virtues is so misunderstood as this one. No other one has been so often erroneously defined, no other grace has been so persistently counterfeited and caricatured. What do we mean by humility?...We know that Jesus was humble, we know also that he demands humility of us, we know that he took the ancient word and cleansed it and made it a lovely word, and yet when asked to define the meaning of it, how difficult it is to do."
• "Jesus gave his disciples three great lessons on the subject of humility" [from] Matthew 18:1-5, Matthew 20:25-28, and John 13:4-17.
• In Matthew 18:1-5, Jesus exhorts the disciples to become like little children.  "It is teachableness, docility, willingness to learn. A child is eager for knowledge, he is everlastingly asking questions, he is always bent on investigation, he pries into everything. He wants to go to the roots of everything....Not only is he free from self-sufficiency, but he is free from vanity. A little child is not vain of the belongings of its parents. It cares nothing for diamonds or silks, brown stone, or carriages. It plays with perfect contentment with a child in the street whose parents have [nothing]."
• "It was because the Pharisees did not have it that he criticized them and condemned them. They were not teachable, they knew everything. Nobody could tell them anything. They were vain, they blew trumpets and called attention to their decorations. They loved salutations. They were ambitious, they were always pushing themselves forward, taking the chief places at the feasts."
• "We get just a glimpse of him at the age of twelve, so hungry for knowledge that he will not go home, but lingers behind to ask the big teachers in the Temple just one more question. Always was he teachable. There is no trace of arrogance in him, no spirit of assumption. He is constantly talking to God, asking him questions, praying for new light. He cannot live without prayer. Prayer is the language of humility. Only the docile in heart ever pray. When we say that Jesus was a man of prayer, we say he was meek and lowly in heart."
• In Matthew 20:25-28, Jesus shares with His disciples that "humility is...a willingness to serve.  A humble man is a man who is ready to make himself useful....He did not underestimate his powers, or make himself small, or feel himself to be unworthy; he simply came down to where men were in order to do them good. That is Christian humility."
• In John 13:4-17 Jesus washes His disciples feet. "Knowing their dullness of understanding he goes on to explain the meaning of his action, telling them, just as he has been willing to do the work of a slave in order to serve them, so they also must be willing to serve one another. Here, again, we see what humility really is. It is laying aside one's dignity, it is making one's self of no reputation, it is a willingness to come down, it is a delight in rendering service...[I]t was because [Jesus] knew his divine origin and his divine destiny, and was conscious of his lofty position that he was willing to take the basin and the towel and do the work of a slave. This is the secret of humility everywhere and always."
• "It is because we do not know that we have come from God, and forget that we are going back to Him that we make such an ado about our dignity, and prize so highly our reputation, and are so lordly and so lofty minded, and take such delight in putting on airs. Only he who is sure of God possesses the secret of humility."
• "The humility which Jesus wants, and which he exemplified in his life, is a form of strength. Only the strong man can be really humble. It is willingness to lay aside one's rights, it is a refusal to use one's power, it is a readiness to come down and to make one's self of no reputation. Jesus was always giving up his rights, he was always refusing to use his power. Repeatedly he had the opportunity to wreak vengeance on his enemies, but he would not do it because he was so humble."
• "Notwithstanding his exalted position, Paul reminds his Philippian converts that Jesus "made himself of no reputation and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And therefore hath 'God highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord indeed.'"

Great words from Charles Jefferson indeed.  The author's words and the Holy Spirit this morning remind me of words from John 3:30 where John the Baptist shares that he must decrease and Jesus must increase.  It is humanity's nature to find worth, value, and significance from the world - of course this hinders an expression of humility defined in scripture.  Yet believers must recognize that our identity, worth, value and significance comes from Jesus - who sees us as worthy of salvation and justified (free from the charge of condemnation as a result of our sin).  Once we recognize our identity as a new creation in Christ, where we see our worth, value, and significance in Jesus, it becomes increasingly clear that we exist not to bring glory to ourselves but instead to glorify God.  It is from our strong conviction of who we are and to whom we belong where we become humble in God's eyes. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that sees me as worthy of salvation and I am justified in Your eyes.  And You continue to pour out mercies that are new every morning that never cease.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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 continue to 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. 

We Exist To Glorify Him, Regardless of Our Circumstances

Today's Reading
Genesis 39

This morning I am struck by verses 2-6:

The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

...and again with verses 20-23 while Joseph is in prison for allegedly (but falsely accused of) sleeping with his master Potiphar's wife.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Over the past several months I have been struggling with interest in my job and I know I am not glorifying God with my work. There are those whose work life is much more difficult and stressful, including those who cannot find work enough to sustain their family. I really need to go to God with this, to ask Him for my forgiveness and to work hard to glorify Him.

My Prayer: Lord, please forgive me for my selfishness. You have provided me with a job - and I have not only not proven grateful for this, I have not glorified you with my work. Please forgive me. Help me focus on working for you and your glory. Rid me of my bad attitude. I want to love you with all of my heart and have this show in my work.

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

 Matthew 2

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2

This morning, I continued with my listening/reading of a Christmas/Advent devotional from John Piper. Today's entry focuses on the star that guided (see also Matthew 2:9) the Magi to the baby Jesus, the newborn king of the Jews.  Piper appropriately exhorts us not to get lost in the marginal - we are not to be preoccupied on how the star guided the Magi to Bethlehem.  Instead, we are to cherish the "great central things of the gospel: the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return, and the final judgment."  Piper then offers up how we are to what is going on: "what is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: It is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him. There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars: God himself.  So, the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global — probably even universal — influence and power to get it done." 

Piper wraps today's devotional by pointing us to scripture where it reinforces his key takeaway:

• Matthew 24:14: God wants us to move from "come and see" as the Magi did, to "go and tell" where all believers participate in the Great Commission to share the good news of Jesus Christ
  
• John 4:23: God wants all humanity to worship Him

We exist to glorify God - for those of us led by God to "come and see" (and accept) Jesus, we must remember to "go and tell."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who provided a star to guide me to You so that You could give me the gift of faith - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You did this for me.  I remain harsh to others and I worry, among my many 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.

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.

Zephaniah 1:7

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. Zephaniah 1:7

I continue my study of Zephaniah using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For this morning, my study focus is an unassisted review of the third division per my commentary: v7.  Here, we have a scene much like that of a court room where in vv1-6 Zephaniah lays out the charges against Judah (see previous posts) - see vv4-6 where Zephaniah shares God's judgement that Judah has worshiped other gods besides the One True God, and by definition Judah has turned away from God and not "inquired of Him." This is a very serious charge considering how we are to love God first and others second as the most important commandments (see also Matthew 22:36-40, Exodus 20).  The wages of sin - ALL sin - are death; see Romans 6:23. In light of the charges against Judah and how the punishment previously described by Zephaniah (see vv2-4) - how God will destroy everything, including Judah - Zephaniah now turns to Judah (and by implication all believing readers) to sit in silence as it is now God's time to force Judah's hand into listening to Him, something they should be doing daily.  God wants us to love Him, listen to Him, be obedient to Him, and ultimately to glorify to Him - this is why we exist.  We don't exist to pursue whatever dreams WE think we want.  Our dreams - if not aligned with God's will - will become idols just as those pursued by Judah.  Much like a parent disciplines a child, in v7 Zephaniah is seeking Judah's silence because God is full of love, patience, etc. and while He could have wiped out Judah WITHOUT any warning, He sees a teaching moment and ultimately out of his compassion, He is preparing an opportunity for Judah to repent. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who is full of patience and grace - often giving those who fall away opportunities to repent and return to Your love arms.  Thank You Jesus for saving me and for the grace You give me.  I am not deserving of such love and grace.  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 continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us led 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.

 

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. v9

Peter's words remind me of Isaiah's words:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

Peter is preventing us from being suckered by false teachers and by Satan himself who is trying to goad you into disbelief and to weaken your faith.  Yet Peter is firm and he encourages us to be firm in our faith and to bring others to Jesus...and the 2nd sentence of verse 9 to me says it all:

Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God is good - and He demonstrates this in part by being patient and by being merciful and compassionate.  He is patient with us (although I am reminded that His patience is not unlimited - I will die and the world as we know will come to an end perhaps during my earthly life - either way I must be ready) so we must repent and turn from our ways to His ways.  We must also bring others to Him.  We exist to glorify Him and to bring others to Him.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You indeed are a great God full of patience, compassion, and mercy for me - although I am completely undeserving of such blessings!  Thank You that You bless me so, but please forgive me Jesus for such sin and help me turn from such sin towards You instead.  Transform my heart and my life Jesus and help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Help me bring others to Him.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Matthew 16

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. v27

Jesus begins to warn His disciples of His impending fate of the cross at the hands of the Jewish elders.  Peter, influenced by evil desires, does not want this to happen and challenges Jesus on this.  Jesus then explains that followers of Jesus must deny themselves and instead serve the desires of Him and glorify Him.  He then tells His disciples that they will be held accountable for their life on earth - in terms of their focus on His desires and their sacrifice to fulfill His desires.

We must focus on the eternal and how what God has given us (resources, time, spiritual gifts) can be used to glorify Him.

Also in this today's reading is a message about how to deal with difficult circumstances - Peter did not want to deal with difficult circumstances.  None of us want bad things to happen but they do - we may not like it but we must not only accept such circumstances but see how God is at work as He always is and for our good and His glory.  We must remember that we don't exist to serve our own pleasure.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has done EVERYTHING for me so that I could have life to the full - freedom from the sting of sin and death.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  I worry, I am quick to anger, etc. among my many sin.  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.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:13-17

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:13-17

I continue a pause of my study of Ecclesiastes to study James 4:13-4:17.  My focus this morning is a commentary-assisted review of this text using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book. As posted yesterday, the commentary where James 4:13-5:20 is outlined in its own chapter of the commentary with a title Faith Lasts.  The commentary then further breaks down the text into two primary divisions each with subdivisions - as follows:

Faith That Perseveres 

1. Humble before the sovereignty of God (4:13-16) 
2. Obedient to the will of God (4:17)
3. Confident in the justice of God (5:1-7) 
1. He is coming to judge the sinful. 
2. He is coming to deliver the faithful. 
4. Patient in suffering (5:7-11) 
5. Trustworthy in speech (5:12) 
6. Prayerful in sorrow (5:13-18)
7. Loving toward sinners (5:19-20)

Faith That Works 

1. Only possible by the gracious gospel of Christ 
2. Played out in the context of the body of Christ 
3. Ultimately aimed toward great glory to Christ

The main idea shared by the introduction for the commentary's chapter: "[f]aith that perseveres to the end is humble before the sovereignty of God, obedient to the will of God, confident in the justice of God, patient in suffering, trustworthy in speech, prayerful in sorrow, and loving toward sinners."  The commentary's chapter introduction also describes how James challenges us.

The commentary for the first division (4:13-16) challenges us as it describes how when James was originally authored "[b]usiness travel in the first century was actually fairly common, and verse 13 pictures a businessman confidently planning to make a profit in the future."  Contemporary life is of course no different and such thoughts are even more pervasive not just here in the United States but elsewhere.  The commentary shares: James calls talking about your business affairs as if they are certainties “boasting” or bragging, that is, doing things in your own strength without admitting dependence on God. James is warning us that we can become so consumed with the material realm, thinking about our plans, plots, and strategies to work and make money, that we become blind to spiritual realities. The problem is not the planning in and of itself but planning in such a way that God has no place in the plans." We are urged to see how God is sovereign over every aspect of our lives, birth, death, and everything in between.  As such we should act humbly and in reverent fear as God is in control - we should recognize that we exist to glorify God and that we don't want to disappoint Him. The commentary also shares that "the intent here is not to create a passive fatalism in our minds that says, “Well, God has determined everything, so I’m just going to sit back and do nothing and see what He decides to do.” No, remember that James gives plenty of commands to obey and actions to take. James is talking about activity throughout this book, but he’s talking about activity that is humbly dependent on the sovereign God of the universe....James describes a radically different way to live in this world, particularly in the busyness and the business of our lives. This world tells us to live like we’re going to be here forever, urging us to make our plans, acquire our possessions, and work to build our portfolio. But James tells us to submit to God. Don’t live like you’re going to be here forever. Instead, live and plan and work like your life is short and like you don’t want to waste it on worldly things. Live like you want to spend your life humbly before the sovereignty of God and ultimately for the glory of God."  

The commentary for the second division (4:17) describes obedience as being either a sin of commission or omission: "We normally think of sin in terms of sins of commission: doing what God has said not to do. God says, “Do not lie,” and so you do not lie. God says, “Do not covet,” and so you do not covet. This is how we often think of sin—as not doing bad things. But James reminds us that just as serious as lying or coveting or doing anything else that God has said not to do are sins of omission: disregarding what God has said to do. This involves hearing the command of God to do something—such as the command to admit dependence on God when you make your business plans—and then choosing not to do it....At the end of Matthew 25 [vv31-46], people are cast into hell, not because of what they did but because of what they didn’t do. They didn’t feed the hungry or clothe the naked. They failed to do what God has commanded His people to do all along—to care for those in need (Moo, James, 208)."  Challenging indeed - God please renew my mind and direct my steps, and help me live boldly for You!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God that is SO full of mercies that never ever cease.  You save me and continue to pour out these mercies daily and so much more - my cup overflows.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and for my salvation.  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.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

Malachi 3:6-10a

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Malachi 3:10a

I return to my study of the last four books of the Old Testament, having already covered Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and most of Malachi.  My study leans on the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series volume which covers these books.  While yesterday my study included a commentary assisted overview of the book of Malachi and an unassisted review of Malachi 3:6-10a, today my study is a commentary-assisted review of Malachi 3:6-10a.  This commentary for this text is includes the following excerpts:

1. Main idea and introduction to the text: "God’s commitment to His covenant trumps Israel’s rebellious history, holding out repentance to Israel and lavishing blessing on both Israel and the nations. Even though the people have fluctuated in their affections and devotion to God, He has not changed, which, as we will see, is the very foundation of His promise of restoration."
2. Division #1 - Malachi 3:6: The text begins with God's promise of mercy for Israel based on a promise He made to Jacob in Genesis 32:28.  God keeps His promises. The commentary shares: "Most of the time, when the Israelites are referred to as the children of Jacob, it’s a rebuke for their disobedience. It’s a reference to the name of their forefather before the divine blessing was bestowed. Yet, even though they were faithless, God would remain faithful to them, as He was to their father, Jacob. Their rebellion has led them far from God, but restoration is still possible if they desire change."  We are are challenged today with the same promise - repent and return to God and He will return to You (see v7).   
   
3. Division #2 - Malachi 3:7-10a: True repentance and reconciliation with God focuses on humility, where the commentary shares how Israel was challenging God by asking God how to return to Him, thinking they were already living as God intended.  God disputes this and offers a sharp rebuke - the commentary calls the dialogue here not one of "clarification" but one of "disputation."  We should not be so arrogant to argue with God believing His judgement is wrong.  Instead we should seek clarification about why and how we can live as He desires us to. We exist to glorify God.  God's rebuke focused on how the Israelites were not tithing to God - v8 - calling them robbers.  Our possessions come from God and belong to Him.  We should give back to God what is His in obedience to His commands - see also 2 Corinthians 8-9.  In response to those who claim that we are no longer under the law but under grace, the commentary shares that "grace never expects less;it always demands more...We should not give to God because we are under obligation to tithe, we should give because He has already given us the inexpressible gift of His Son Jesus Christ."  See also Luke 18-19. "Malachi is not necessarily calling out those who have been faithfully giving, asking them to give more; Malachi is calling out those who gave nothing. He is calling out those who haphazardly gave. He is calling out those who are giving without worshiping. God doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart. He wants you to understand that a closed hand is unable to receive a blessing. With a generous, open hand, you are opening yourself up to receive God’s blessings. With a rebellious, closed hand, you are hindering your ability to receive God’s blessings."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me.  Thank You Father God Jesus for Your grace and mercy and how You keep Your promises despite how I often fall down.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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 continue to 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. 

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God[.]

Psalm 143

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God[.] v10

David seeks to do God's will...although not always - this is a post for another day.  For today, the message from David is the former...that we exist to glorify God. 


They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. Isaiah 60:21

If we exist to glorify God, then we should focus on our energies on understanding and following God's will for our lives.  Paul tells us that by drawing near to God, in prayer, study of His Word, silence, and through other spiritual disciplines, we can better understand Him and His will for our lives.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

My Prayer: Lord, Your Will for my life is to prosper me and not to harm me.  I know this.  And I know that I exist to glorify You and You are worthy of my worship.  You also bless me beyond what I deserve - thank You Jesus.  I am not worthy of Your love, compassion and blessings. I fall short of the man You intend me to be.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome my sin and turn towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength. Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo. Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.