Thurs., 7/3/25 Devotion (Josh. 5:12)

Today's encouragement comes from Joshua 5:12, where we read these words:

"Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.”

After our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and took His place at the Father’s right hand; and after the Triune God finally closed the canon of the NT scriptures—the church of Jesus would never again need to “eat” from any of the provisions that were necessary (before the events mentioned above). Not only were abrogated OT rites done away with, but also tongues and prophecy, etc., went by the wayside.

True, i.e. regenerated Christians feed on Jesus Christ the Bread of Life; and they have no taste or relish for anyone or anything else. Non-regenerate peo-ple spend all their time filling their souls with the chaff of the world and its false religions. Let all the saints be sated to the full in our Messiah!

[Puritan quote of the day: "Feeling and freeness of spirit are often reserved until duty is discharged.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Bruised Reed"]

Wed., 7/2/25 Devotion (Ps. 130:3-4)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 130:3 & 4, where we read these words:

"If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.”

If righteousness before God had anything to do with any of us, we would all be doomed to hell. We possess nothing in ourselves that we can pre-sent to God as “righteousness.” Anybody that thinks he or she has any in-herent “goodness” or “righteousness” is under condemnation (and rightly so).

. . . Therefore, it is wonderful that the psalmist, (probably David), intimates the imputed righteousness of Christ, by which sinners are forgiven, and have a perfect standing with the Holy God. Let us bless God for the gos-pel of grace in our Lord Jesus Christ!

[Puritan quote of the day: "In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, among that cloud of witnesses, we see Rahab, Gideon, and Samson ranked with Abraham, the father of the faithful (Heb. 11:31-32).” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Bruised Reed”]

Tues., 7/1/25 Devotion (Matt. 11:28)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 11:28, where we read these words which fell from the Savior's lips:

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

The weird thing about life, is that all that is necessary for perfect fulfillment, is desire. Those who *feel* their need of Jesus, and who come to Him in faith (and nothing else), get Him. Augustine's maxim is true: "Our souls are rest-less until we find our rest in You [the true God]."

A soul at rest can pray to God; and can concentrate on what is truly impor-tant. A person that is constantly restless can only do a lot of work, activity, and performance, hoping to assuage real guilt and worry. God only accepts hearts that come to Christ, and rest in Him.

[Puritan quote of the day: "This may be a great comfort to you: God does not expect you to root out all presence of sin, but only to keep down the reigning of sin in you.” —Christopher Love, in, "The Mortified Christian"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 6/6-8/25 Devotion

Bless God—Sunday is almost here. We get to go back to church, to hear the fresh gospel of grace, and enjoy the ordinances of God! In order to help set our minds aright, here are some great words from the amazing John Owen. These come from his outstanding “The Doctrine of Justification By Faith” book. . . .

“[Justifying faith] includes in it a sincere renunciation of all other ways and means for the attaining of righteousness, life and salvation. This is essential to faith, (Acts 4:12; Hos. 14:2-3; Jer. 3:23). Ps. 71:16b: ‘I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone,’ [italics mine]. When a person is in the condition before described, [i.e. under conviction of sin/having no hope in anything in himself or the law/being desperate/and without human resources, etc.], (and such alone are called immediately to believe, Matt. 9:13; 11:28; 1 Tim. 1:15), many things will present themselves to him for his relief; particu-larly his own righteousness (Rom. 10:3). A renunciation of them all as to any hope or expectation of relief from them, belongs to sincere believing, (Isa. 1:10-11).

“ . . . Trust in God, or the grace and mercy of God in and through the Lord Christ as set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, belongs here-to, or necessarily ensues hereon. For the person called to believing is, 1) con-vinced of sin, and exposed to wrath; 2) has nothing else to trust to for help and relief; 3) actually renounces all other things that tender [present] them-selves to that end . . . "

Thurs., 6/5/25 Devotion (Ps. 92:13-14)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 92:13 & 14, where we read these words:

"Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flour-ishing . . . “

As someone who is getting older everyday, I really appreciate these verses. The promise (here) applies to every faithful regenerated Christian churchman. So long as we are in Christ, we are in His church, God’s “house.” We roam our Father’s “courts,” as we fellowship with Him via the Spirit’s grace all day long.

Every human being is “planted.” Some are planted in the house of the world; and some are planted in the house of the LORD. Let us find ourselves thriv-ing in Jesus today.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Observe the happy condition of every child of God. All things work for his good, the best and worst things.” —Thomas Watson, in, "All Things For Good"]

Wed., 6/4/25 Devotion (Isa. 36:4)

Today's encouragement comes from Isaiah 36:4, where we read these words:

"Then the Rabshakeh said to them, 'Say now to Hezekiah, "Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: 'What confidence is this in which you

trust?' " ' "

Do we trust in the Lord, the Triune God of the Bible? Do we have full confi-dence in Christ alone? If so, then the world will not understand us, nor why we dare put our faith in God—and not in them. Here, the self-important king of Assyria reckoned himself invincible: "How dare Hezekiah would trust in a God, over me," he thought.

God is *very* pleased by our simple and sincere faith in Jesus. No matter what our situation may be today, we will do well to put all our faith in Christ. As we do so we can enjoy God in every way.

[Puritan quote of the day: "It is the honor of religion to have such disciples as will own her and stand for her at all times, and that with an undaunted cour-age.” —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit"]

Tues., 6/3/25 Devotion (Isa. 35:10)

Today's encouragement comes from Isaiah 35:10, where we read these words:

"And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

The blessedness of salvation in Christ leads to forgiveness and restoration. These graces bring on a great deal of supernatural heartfelt joy and pleasure. Only the redeemed know the deepest and most profound senses of bliss and contentment possible in this world (all in Jesus).

Therefore, let us try to look at our lives from the vantage point of what really matters. Are we forgiven people? Do we trust in Christ alone for our right-eousness? If so, then, we have reason and cause for much joy—even if a lot of other areas of our lives are difficult and trial-filled.

[Puritan quote of the day: "As God is the worst enemy, so He is the best friend, the truest friend, the most real friend in all the world.” —William Bridge, in, "A Lifting Up For the Downcast"]