Fri.-Sabbath, 8/25-27/23 Devotion

Praise God—Sunday is almost here again! In order to help us prepare for church worship, here is the great John Owen, from his “The Glory of Christ” book. . . .

“Christ communicates Himself to us by creating a new nature, His own na-ture, in us. The very same spiritual nature which is in Him is also in the church, but with this difference: In Christ all graces reside in absolute perfec-tion, whereas in us graces exist in various measures as He is pleased to communicate them to us. But it is still the same divine nature in Him as in us, for through the precious promises of the gospel we are made partakers of the divine nature. It is not enough that He should take our nature upon Him, un-less He gives His nature to be ours. . . . "

Thurs., 8/24/23 Devotion (Ps. 32:1)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 32:1, where we read these words:

"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

If sins are covered—and they can only be atoned for through the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, the benefits of which are conveyed in regenera-tion and experienced by faith—then a person is truly blessed. If a soul lives in unforgiveness before God, then that soul can in no way be truly happy, or be at peace.

Forgiven people are not flawless (sinless) people—we continue to sin, while we live here. But the guilt of all our trespasses is forever removed from us; and our iniquity is never any longer "imputed" to us, (see v. 2). Instead, Christ's perfect righteousness is imputed to us. Who are these incredibly blessed people? Regenerate Christian churchmen—who do not trust in them-selves, but in Jesus alone.

[Puritan quote of the day: "We then, who are Christians, having made a vow to Christ in baptism, and so often renewed it in the blessed sacrament [of the Lord's Supper], should, with much contentment, choose rather to suffer than violate our sacred oath.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Art of Divine Content-ment"]

Wed., 8/23/23 Devotion (1 Sam. 15:1b)

Today's encouragement comes from 1 Samuel 15:1b, where we read these words:

" . . . Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD.”

The prophet Samuel's phraseology (above) to King Saul is interesting. The "words of the Lord" are words that are "voiced" by God. We are reminded of 2 Tim. 3:16a, where Paul wrote: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God [or, is God-breathed].”

The inscripturated word of God, then, when it is preached, or even spoken (as it was by Samuel, in the verse above), has pungent power that "breaks the cedars," and cracks the stony hearts of man into pieces. Let all faithful churched Christians "heed the voice of the words of the Lord" today. As we do so, we will glorify Christ, and we will benefit ourselves and everyone around us.

[Puritan quote of the day: "God is best worth thinking on. Is there any excel-lency in the world? Then what is there in the God who made it?” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Great Gain of Godliness"]

Tues., 8/22/23 Devotion (Ps. 30:3)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 30:3, where we read these words:

"O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit."

The regenerated soul in the Lord Jesus Christ is a resurrected soul. It has everlasting life in the Messiah, and it will never and can never die. No matter what the world, the flesh, or the devil throw at this supernaturally-transformed heart, it is not capable of sinking it again (into despair, or hell).

Justification in Christ’s blood and resurrection leads to sanctification. It is this process of becoming more like Jesus (sanctification) that often causes us to feel like we are headed for the pit again. But, if we are sincere, regenerated Christian churchmen, then we need never fear actually falling into it. Jesus Christ is our perfect and complete righteousness.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If you grieve God's Spirit in heaven, He will sadden your spirit on earth.” —Christopher Love, in, "The Dejected Soul's Cure"]

Mon. 8/21/23 Devotion (Rom. 11:33)

Today's encouragement comes from Romans 11:33, where Paul wrote these words:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!"

Everything, without exception, that God has done, does, or will ever do is good. Everything that has ever occurred, in the entire history of creation, is designed to further His glory and the welfare of Christ's church. Do we be-lieve these Biblical doctrines? If so, it is because we are willing (by grace) to accept the wonder and amazement of Rom. 11:33—and we share in Paul's astonishment of how merciful and magnificent God is.

Let us believe way beyond the little purview of the tiny terrain we see with the eyes of our flesh. God is better than we could ever imagine Him to be.

[Puritan quote of the day: "As He is God, all things are His own, and He has a right to dispose of them according to His own pleasure.” —Jonathan Ed-wards, in his sermon, "The Sovereignty of God"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 8/18-20/23 Devotion

Bless God—it is almost Sunday again! We get to go back to church! Here (again) is the great John Owen, from his, “The Glory of Christ” book. . . .

“So, let us not bring dishonor to the gospel by thinking that faith in it and obe-dience to it bring only trouble, persecution and unpopularity and not joy, peace, or assurance. Such thoughts are contrary to the promises of Christ and to the whole teaching of the New Testament (see Mark 10:30; Heb. 10:34). If we only experience the trouble but not the comforts of the gospel, we must lay the blame squarely on our own shoulders.

“ . . . But when we cling wholeheartedly to Christ and our minds are filled with thoughts of Him and we constantly delight ourselves in Him, then spiritual power will flow from Him to purify our hearts, increase our holiness, strength-en our graces, and sometimes fill us ‘with joy inexpressible and full of glory.’ "

Thurs., 8/17/23 Devotion (Jer. 46:27b)

Today's encouragement comes from Jeremiah 46:27b, where we read these words:

" . . . Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; no one shall make him afraid."

Do we understand that there is nothing wrong with the faithful church being "at ease"? After all, we rest our souls in Jesus—trusting that He alone has al-ready done everything necessary to procure our full and perfect justification before God. We take a Sabbath rest every Sunday. We rest from all works- and law-righteousness. And we have eternal rest in heaven throughout eter-nity.

Sloth and indolence is not being "at ease"; but true faith in the Redeemer *is*. Therefore, let us not feel guilty because we are enjoying being "at ease”; and are not "afraid" of anything. These (guilt) feelings belong to idolaters who trust in themselves, or something else. Guilt and condemnation is not the estate of those who repose their souls in Christ alone; rest and “ease” is.

[Puritan quote of the day: "For the bent and desires of the will carry the whole man with it.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "Glorious Freedom"]

Wed., 8/16/23 Devotion (Jer. 44:18)

Today's encouragement comes from Jeremiah 44:18, where we read these words:

"But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been con-sumed by the sword and by famine."

A primary reason sinners commit idolatry is because of a serious misunder-standing of the source of their blessings. Jeremiah had condemned the idol-atrous worship of Ishtar, "the queen of heaven”—but the people of Judah would not risk the truth of the prophet's words, as over against an alleged stock of provision (coming from the worship of the false goddess).

It is always wiser for us to choose to worship the true God (through Christ alone); and to get by with hardly anything, and end up forgiven and free—than to commit idolatry, have our "needs" met, and end up in hell.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The happiness of angels as well as of men con-sists very much in beholding the glory of God.” —Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "The Wisdom of God"]

Tues., 8/15/23 Devotion (1 Sam. 5:3a)

Today's encouragement comes from 1 Samuel 5:3a, where we read these words:

"And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Da-gon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD."

This account (above) is part of the story of when the Philistines put the ark of the Lord in the temple of their false god Dagon. While the two objects were set there next to each other, Dagon fell down from his pedestal, and had to give homage to the Lord (through the ark's presence). The poor idol could do nothing, except collapse, and break off its head and hands (see v. 4).

So it is with all idols (or false gods)—be they of the primitive type like that of the Philistines; or of the "sophisticated” kind we may conceive in our minds today. They all end up having to fall down and give honor and glory to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God. Let us be thankful for this fact; and let us be sure to abhor all of our own propensity toward idolatry.

[Puritan quote of the day: "It is, I say, natural to think, but it is not natural to think of God; this is proper to a saint.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Great Gain of Godliness"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 8/11-13/23 Devotion

Praise God—Sunday is almost here! Here (again) is John Owen, from his amazing “The Glory of Christ” book. . . .

“The decree of election prepared, as it were, the material for the production of the church, the new creation. In the creation of the world, God first created and prepared the matter, which, by the power of the Holy Spirit was formed into all the different and various creatures. He gave life to them according to their distinct kinds.

“Similarly, in producing and perfecting the work of the church from eternity, in the holy purpose of His will, God prepared and set apart for Himself those He had chosen for salvation. They were the special matter that was to be worked on by the Holy Spirit in the production of the glorious fabric of the church. Thus what was said by the psalmist about the natural body of man may also be said of the mystical body of Christ (see Ps. 139:15-16)."

Thurs., 8/10/23 Devotion (Acts 28:6)

Today's encouragement comes from Acts 28:6, where these words are found:

"However, they were expecting that [Paul] would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god."

Behold the amazing fickleness of religious man. In v. 4, the Maltese natives thought Paul was a murderer. Two verses later, they think he is a god. Sin-ners run to extremes; and the people of God need not ever be too concerned about the opinions others have of us. The truth is that even the elect/re-deemed church lives in the "middle," "gray area," where our new natures in Christ are still overcoming our old natures in Adam.

Let us be wary of either exalting or demeaning God's atoned-for children. Only Christ is 100% perfect in every way.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Zeal quickens the pursuit after glory. Zeal, en-countering difficulty, is emboldened by opposition and tramples upon dan-ger.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Doctrine of Repentance"]

Wed., 8/9/23 Devotion (Acts 27:31)

Today's encouragement comes from Acts 27:31, where we read these words:

"Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, 'Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.' "

What Paul says (above) regarding the merchant ship on which he and many others were sailing, God would say to all professing Christians: "Unless you stay in the gospel ship (of Christ as His church), you cannot be saved." Why would anybody want to "jump ship"? Because of persecution, trial, fiery fur-naces of affliction, cowardice, unbelief, etc.

The good ship of Jesus sails over the sea of judgment today, as Noah's ark did in the book of Genesis. Let all God's true children stay faithful in Christ and His church—and enjoy the voyage, even when it gets bumpy.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Not one of all God's true soldiers was ever left to perish on the field of battle.” —Thomas Jones, in the preface of Isaac Am-brose's, "The Christian Warrior"]

Tues., 8/8/23 Devotion (Acts 26:8)

Today's encouragement comes from Paul's words, as they are found in Acts 26:8:

"Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?"

Authentic churched Christianity is all about resurrection life, at every turn. The faith of believers is built on the objective historical fact of the bodily resurrec-tion of Jesus Christ from the dead. And the current experience of regenera-tion (bringing justification, etc.) is the fruit of the soul's resurrection with Jesus (even now). If we take resurrection out of any aspect of our faith, we have no-thing left.

All resurrection (or Spirit-filled) living is miraculous; but, as Paul avers above, it is not impossible, or irrational. What struggles do we have today? Let us, by faith, go to the resurrected Christ.

[Puritan quote of the day: "It is not so much the sins we have committed that so provoke and grieve Christ as that we refuse the medicine of repentance which He prescribes.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Doctrine of Repentance"]

Mon., 8/7/23 Devotion (Ps. 8:1)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 8:1, where David wrote this:

"O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens!"

No matter how dark and dreary things may be, or seem to be here below in this fallen world—God's glory, like the sun, is always shining above, never shrouded over with clouds of sin or misery. But, this truth would be of little comfort for us, in this life, if the Lord's name was not made to be "excellent" in "all the earth."

How can this be? God's name is excellent here, even in the midst of much sin, because Jesus has come here. He has, in His cross and resurrection, bridged the gap between heaven and earth, and has "united" them for the benefit of His faithful church. We now live in the new universe of God’s glory in the incarnated and ascended God/Man Jesus Christ.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion! Can we be God's servants and not His soldiers? Is not Christ's church on earth truly mili-tant?” —Isaac Ambrose, in, "The Christian Warrior"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 8/4-6/23 Devotion

Praise God—it is almost Sunday. We get to go back to church, to worship God as the body of Christ. Toward that end, here are great words from John Owen, out of his book, entitled, “The Glory of Christ." . . .

“Christ is glorious in that perfect obedience to the law of God on behalf of His church. This obedience was absolutely necessary to exalt the wisdom, holi-ness and righteousness of God in giving the law. When man fell he could no longer keep the law. But through the obedience of Christ, by virtue of His mystical union with the church, the law was perfectly obeyed in us by being obeyed for us. Now the glory of God in giving the law and its promised re-wards is seen in all its perfection (see Rom. 8:3, 4).

“One view of Christ’s glory by faith will scatter all the fears, answer all the ob-jections and disperse all the depressions of poor, tempted, doubting souls. To all believers it is an anchor which they may cast within the veil, to hold them firm and steadfast in all trials, storms and temptations, both in life and in death."

Thurs., 8/3/23 Devotion (Jer. 31:12a, c)

Today's encouragement comes from Jeremiah 31:12a & c, where we read these words:

"Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the LORD . . . Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all."

Jeremiah the prophet (above) is speaking of the Gospel times in which the church has been living since the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be-lievers stream to Jesus, singing His praise in and as His body, His church. Their souls are satisfied and nourished. They continue to struggle with the flesh, sin, the world, and the devil—but they do not "sorrow" anymore, be-cause every single one of their sins are forgiven.

Let us—who in just three days from now (on Sunday) will be back up on "Mt. Zion," meeting with and worshipping our Savior—go forth rejoicing today, as we serve our King in the various places in which He has assigned us.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Difficulty commends duty, and the less you have to sweeten your action the more sweet it is to God.” —William Bridge, in, "A Lift-ing Up for the Downcast"]

Wed., 8/2/23 Devotion (Jer. 29:4-5)

Today's encouragement comes from Jeremiah 29:4 & 5, where we read these words:

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 'Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ "

Instead of seeking to destroy the Babylonian culture to which the Judean captives were taken, Jeremiah, under God's direct inspiration, encourages them to build-up the Chaldean society. To many of the captives this instruc-tion must have grated against them: they would rather be terrorists in their enemies' land, than to be assets to it.

The same is true of the faithful church today. Under Jesus, we are the only rightful "owners" of the earth (Matt. 5:5); and we are to be a blessing to every community in which we live. This is to be our mission, even if, for the present, our civil communities may seem to be under the illusory sway of the devil and his minions.

[Puritan quote of the day: "In all the comfortable providences of your lives, eye God as the Author or Donor of them.” —John Flavel, in, "The Mystery of Providence"]

Tues., 8/1/23 Devotion (Acts 19:20)

Today's encouragement comes from Acts 19:20, where we read these few words:

"So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed."

It is good for both the church and the world, when the word of God grows mightily, and prevails. When the devil is put on the defensive, and the church and the gospel advance boldly—real territory is gained, Christ is glorified, and everyone benefits.

Let us pray toward this end; and let us live toward this end: that the word of God would grow and prevail—especially as it is preached from the church’s faithful pulpits. There are only two options: either God's word is advancing, or the world's (the devil's) word is making temporary headway. Let us bless God that we may confidently affirm that Christ always has the victory.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The Lord has a special eye upon and loves to dwell with these who are of choice and excellent spirits.” —Jeremiah Bur-roughs, in, "The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit"]