Today, the thought occurred to me that the one and only John Piper should weigh at least 400lbs., if not more. I don’t get it, though.  To look at him, the man can’t weigh more than a buck fifteen, soaking wet.

Why would I expect him to be morbidly obese? Why, I’m glad you asked.

Today, like so many other days in recent history, John Piper ate my lunch.  Plus, I am almost positive that I’m not the only one he’s done this to, either.  So how is it that this bad man doesn’t weigh 400lbs. by now?

Because, when it comes down to it, John Piper is not the one “eating my lunch.”  It’s the Holy Spirit through John Piper.  That very thing happened this morning while listening to Piper’s sermon, “Songs That Shape the Heart and Mind.”  Piper makes clear God’s purpose for passing down these holy songs and stresses their importance (along with the rest of Scripture) in the lives of believers.

I encourage you to go read / listen to this sermon for yourself.  It was certainly impacting to me.

In the meantime, I pray that I continue to have my lunch eaten, if you will, by the Holy Spirit — through both John Piper and John Owen.

When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t “feeling” that great.  I had awakened 2 hours earlier than I had planned and had a very hard time going back to sleep.  That made my morning get off to a slow and bumpy start.

However, the Holy Spirit came along as I was making my morning rounds on the ‘net and reminded me that no matter how I feel or how much sleep I did or didn’t get, that I had awakened to the awesome truth that:

The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
- Psalm 145:8 (ESV)

Even though I didn’t take the time to open my Bible this morning, God used my blog and some RSS to remind me of what I was walking in — and that is His grace, mercy, and love coupled with the absence of His condemnation.

And what a sweet walk it is.

Why is the Bible on the list of banned items for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, yet so many Bibles I’ve ever seen say “Printed in China” on the copyright page?

Since my recent surgery, my physical strength has declined. I suppose that is a natural occurrence — something to be expected. However, one thing that I did not expect was the decline of my spiritual strength. Now, I could sit here and mull over any number of factors that lead to this decline, but the fact remains that it happened.

Nonetheless, our God remains faithful and full of mercy. So, in the same way that people will say to me, in passing, that I appear to be regaining more of my strength with each day — I feel the Lord strengthening me in the wake of what has been one of the more trying times in my life. I know it is from the Lord, and nothing or no one else. Tonight, as I read over Hebrews 13, I was reminded of that fact.

“…for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” (Hebrews 13:9 ESV)

The emphasis there is my own. Grace, and grace alone, is the source of any strength in this life. The foods that I, you, we use to try and strengthen ourselves — be it, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, physically — are of no benefit to us. In fact, I would venture to say that nine times out of ten, they are detrimental to our lives and the lives of those around us.

So, in the same breath that the pastor-author of Hebrews warns against strange teaching, he also warns against food that does not benefit or satisfy our need for strength. What a timely warning in my own life and what an appropriate word for such a time as this. Everyone wants to be strong, or at the very least, they want to appear strong. May we, by grace, approach the throne of God and pray that He pours out, in mercy, a strengthening grace that is sufficient for today so that we may live a life pleasing to Him, one that glorifies Him alone.

That’s a strength I need so much more than I do my physical strength.