Fri.-Sabbath, 10/28-30/22 Devotion

Praise God—it is almost Sunday (even “Reformation Sunday”)! We *get* to go back to church! In order to help us prepare for Sabbath worship, here is Thomas Watson, from his, "A Plea For the Godly" book. Here, he explains how much the Father loves the true and regenerated church. . . .

"See how dearly God loves the righteous and how near to His heart they lie. They are more excellent. The word 'excellent' carries affection in it. Things we prize we love. The righteous are God's treasure, (Psalm 135:4); and where His treasure is there is His heart. They are God's delicious garden where He plants the flower of His love. They are the dearly beloved of His soul. They are His darlings. He engraves them upon the palms of His hands that they may never be out of His eye. He rejoices over them with joy and rests in His love.

"It is no ordinary affection that God bears to the righteous. The sun shining upon a burning glass sets on fire only the object that is near the glass. The beams of God's love are more intensely enflamed towards them who are near Him by grace; these have the strength and spirits of His love distilled, He loves them as He loves Christ. Indeed, in one sense, God's love to Christ and believers is not alike, for Christ is loved purely for His own sake but believers are loved for Christ's sake. Yet, in another sense, God the Father loves be-lievers as He loves Christ. It is the same love for the quality, the same for the unchangeableness of it. God will no more cease to love believers than He will to love Christ."

Thurs., 10/27/22 Devotion (Ps. 119:52)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 119:52, where we read these words:

"I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, and have comforted myself."

The best way to get a good perspective on the present and the future, is to heartily believe in the God who has decreed all things in eternity past. It is al-so helpful to remember how gracious the Lord has been to His church in days gone by. All this has the effect of giving us confidence and peace in the cur-rent situations (be they "good" or "bad").

But only the faithful churched Christian can do any of this happy “remember-ing." For unbelievers, their musings on God are *not* comforting at all. After all, God's "judgments" are just that for them—unless they come by grace to faith in Christ. For us believers, on the other hand, God's judgment has al-ready been poured out on Jesus (on the cross) for us. We can and should re-joice in the forgiveness of our sins.

[Puritan quote of the day: "God intermixes mercy with affliction. He steeps His sword of justice in the oil of mercy. There was no night so dark but Israel had a pillar of fire in it.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Godly Man's Picture"]

Wed., 10/26/22 Devotion (2 Ki. 7:9a)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Kings 7:9a, which says this:

"Then they said to one another, 'We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. . . . ' "

These words were spoken by four lepers who found great booty in the Syrian army camp, that had been miraculously deserted. They could have kept the wonderful news to themselves, and simply glutted themselves with food and delights—or they could share it with others, who (like them) were starving to death.

So is it the case with the gospel. Those who, by grace, feed on Christ and His goodness every Lord’s Day and throughout the week, ought to have compas-sion and concern for those who do not. What do we have to offer them? The Christ of the good news of salvation. We are all spiritual lepers before we are converted to Jesus, the Bread of Life.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The people of God are begotten through the edu-cation, instruction, and endeavors of those who were God's people before. Therefore, the church is represented in Scripture as being the mother of its members, (Gal. 4:26).” —Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "Christians a Chosen Generation"]

Tues., 10/25/22 Devotion (2 Ki. 6:33b)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Kings 6:33b, where we find these words:

" . . . And then the king [of Israel] said, 'Surely this calamity is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?' "

Many people fail in their religion because of impatience. Here, the king of Is-rael is right: God sent the trouble with which they were dealing. But he was wrong, in thinking that it was futile to "wait for the LORD any longer." Little did he know that in the very next chapter God would bring about a great and mir-aculous deliverance.

If we are almost at the ends of our ropes today, and we are tempted to give up on God—let us be sure not to do this. The Lord is always faithful to His church; and all alternatives to Christ only lead to much worse disasters (in this world, and in the one to come).

[Puritan quote of the day: "Oh, do not let the devil be your master, nor the world your god. Do not let sin cheat and impose upon you with its false and counterfeit delights.” —Timothy Rogers, in, "Trouble of Mind and the Disease of Melancholy"]

Mon., 10/24/22 Devotion (Dan. 9:18b)

Today's encouragement comes from Daniel 9:18b, where Daniel prays these words:

" . . . For we do not present our supplications before You because of our righ-teous deeds, but because of Your great mercies."

If we had to approach God, and present our petitions to Him based on our righteous deeds, we would never come to the Lord, ever. Besides that, we would have no basis for our prayers, because we do not possess any righte-ous deeds that can save us, or even recommend us to God. Daniel, a true believer, understood this gospel truth, (see above).

We come to God on the basis of Christ's righteousness, which is imputed to us churched saints, by sovereign grace. This is the ground on which we pro-perly approach God. The Lord will hear the prayers of those who come to Him bearing Jesus in the arms of faith. But He disregards all other petitions.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Hell did not know what it did when it crucified Christ; death, with all its armies, was put to death with Him.” —Richard Al-leine, in, "Heaven Opened"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 10/21-23/22 Devotion

Praise God—Sunday is almost here. Here is Thomas Watson, from "All Things for Good," or, "A Divine Cordial.” . . .

"The word preached works for good. It is a savor of life, it is a soul-transform-ing word. It assimilates the heart into Christ’s likeness; it produces assurance. 'Our gospel came to you not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance,' (1 Thess. 1:5). It is the chariot of salvation.

"Prayer works for good. Prayer is the bellows of the affection; it blows up holy desires and ardors of soul. Prayer has power with God. It is a key that un-locks the treasury of God’s mercy. Prayer keeps the heart open to God, and shut to sin; it assuages the intemperate hearts and swellings of lust. It was Luther’s counsel to a friend, when he perceived a temptation begin to arise, to betake himself to prayer. Prayer is the Christian’s gun, which he discharges against his enemies. Prayer is the sovereign medicine of the soul. Prayer sanctifies every mercy (1 Tim. 4:5). It is the dispeller of sorrow: by venting the grief it eases the heart. When Hannah had prayed, 'She went away, and was no more sad,' (1 Sam. 1:18). And if it has these rare effects, then it works for good."

Thurs., 10/20/22 Devotion (Ps. 111:4b, 5b)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 111:4b & 5b, where we read these words:

"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion. . . . He will ever be mindful of His covenant."

What a great God we believing churchmen serve! He is amazingly merciful; and He is totally committed to His covenant (i.e. keeping His promises to His church, in Christ's blood atonement). The world, our own flesh, and the devil are always seeking to make us think that the Lord is anything *but* "gracious and full of compassion”—but every redeemed soul knows this to be true.

Since we have such a wonderful God, let us serve Him with cheerfulness and vivacity today. While we live in this world, we have the honor and privilege of overcoming our weaknesses (by faith); and, as we do this, we can lift up the Name of the Lord Jesus before the watching world.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Though heaven is God's glorious mansion, yet it will not serve His turn. God does not think that to be enough unless He has a dwelling also in a tender, broken, humble spirit.” —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "Gospel Fear"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 10/7-9/22 Devotion

Let us thank God—it is almost Sunday! In order to help get us ready for church, here are words from Thomas Watson's, "The Lord's Prayer” book. . . .

"True faith is wrought by the ministry of the word. 'Faith comes by hearing,' (Rom. 10:17). Peter let down the net of his ministry, and at one time caught three thousand souls. Let us examine how our faith was wrought. Did God in the ministry of the word humble us? Did He break up the fallow ground of our heart, and then cast in the seed of faith? A good sign; but, if you know not how you came by your faith, suspect yourselves; as we suspect men to have stolen goods, when they know not how they came by them.

"True faith is at first small, like a grain of mustard seed; it is full of doubts and fears; it is smoking flax: it smokes with desire, but does not flame with com-fort. It is so small that a Christian can hardly discern whether he has faith or not.

"True faith is joined with sanctity. . . . Though faith does but touch Christ, it fetches a healing virtue from Him. Justifying faith does that in a spiritual sense which miraculous faith does: it removes the mountains of sin, and casts them into the sea of Christ's blood."

Thurs., 10/6/22 Devotion (Ps. 90:17)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 90:17, where Moses wrote these words:

"And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands."

The beauty of the Lord is what will make our church lives irresistibly appeal-ing to all who behold us. When God anoints our souls with His grace in Christ, then our ministries, borne out of sincere love for God, matter. What we do will outlast us. This is why Moses, in this psalm, asks the Lord to "establish the work of our hands."

Most people want their names to be perpetuated; but they neglect the only thing that will cause that to actually happen (in the most honorable way)—namely, having Christ's beauty shine through them. By faith, let us walk with Jesus today.

[Puritan quote of the day: "God has a greater delight in the sincere worship and love of one poor, obscure Christian than in all that is done throughout the globe by irreligious kings and princes.” —Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "Christians a Chosen Generation"]

Wed., 10/5/22 Devotion (Eph. 5:1-2a)

Today's encouragement comes from Ephesians 5:1 & 2a, where we read these words:

"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love . . . "

Paul is telling the Ephesian Christians—even as he still speaks to the church today—that we are to "imitate" God. The first and clearest way we do this, is by "walking in love." The key to both of these otherwise preposterous com-mands, is to be found in what sandwiches in between them: "as dear chil-dren."

As the children of God, faithful Christian churchmen will imitate their Heavenly Father, even as natural children imitate their human father. But *how* do we do something that does not come naturally to us (because of our sin)? Through faith in Jesus. The Son of God is the One who connects us, the chil-dren of God, to our Heavenly Father. Can we walk in divine imitative love to-day? Yes; in and through Christ our Lord.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Inward grace is wrought by outward means; the preaching of the Word is the engine that God uses to work grace. It is called 'the rod of HIs strength,' (Ps. 110:2).” —Thomas Watson, in his sermon, "The Beauty of Grace"]

Tues., 10/4/22 Devotion (Ezek. 37:4-5)

Today's encouragement comes from Ezekiel 37:4 & 5, where these words are found:

"Again He [God] said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.' " ' "

Behold the amazing power of the preached word of the gospel of Christ's grace. God brings life to the valley of dry bones through the agency of His proclaimed (prophesied) word. What an odd way to get the job done. We would have expected almost anything other than this.

Today, as it has always been, there are many false and futile substitutes for preaching—all claiming to be able to make dry bones live. Let us not fall for any of them. May the true and faithful church (rather) listen to the word of God, as it is proclaimed from faithful pulpits.

[Puritan quote of the day: "He who thinks that anything less than God will suf-fice for satisfaction in life does not understand the soul; and he who wants anything more than God does not understand God.” —Richard Alleine, in, "Heaven Opened"]

Mon., 10/3/22 Devotion (Eph. 3:21)

Today's encouragement comes from Ephesians 3:21, where we read these words:

" . . . to Him [God] be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

God will get His greatest levels of glory in and through His church—more than anywhere else. The reason for this, is that the redeemed (who make it up) are the recipients of the most amazing and marvelous grace. They are given the very best of heaven, even while they are here on the earth. And this most wonderful gift is that of the Son of God Himself.

Let us build our lives around Christ. If we will do this, we will find ourselves building our lives around His church. Let us do all this by grace, through faith in Jesus.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If God brings any beginnings of grace to truth, the victory is already gotten.” —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit"]