Fri.-Sabbath, 9/29-10/1/23 Devotion

Praise God—it is almost Sunday! We get to go to church again! Here is Tho-mas Watson, from his, "The Happiness of Drawing Near to God" book. . . .

"A gracious soul cannot but draw near to God, because he has found so much sweetness and contentment in it. While he has drawn near to God, he has drawn virtue from Him. Never did Jonathan taste so much sweetness when he dipped his rod in the honeycomb, (1 Sam. 14:27)—as the soul finds in communion with God. In drawing near to God a Christian's heart has been warmed and melted; the Lord has kindled His sacrifice from Heaven. In his approaches to God, he has had the blessings of the Spirit, the incomes of God's love, the previews of glory: God has given him a 'bunch of grapes' by the way; he has 'tasted that the Lord is good.' No wonder then he is so fre-quent in his approaches to the divine majesty; he has found the comfort of drawing near to God."

Thurs., 9/28/23 Devotion (Gal. 5:1)

Today's encouragement comes from Galatians 5:1, where we read these great words:

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

Every day when we wake up we are faced with an array of forces that are dead-set on robbing us of our freedom and joy in Christ. First among them is our own flesh, which continues to desire to have a right standing with God in-dependently of Jesus' blood atonement. On top of this, there is the world of works-religion, which preaches law to us, and insists that we be enslaved by rules (just like they are).

It takes courage, determination, and intentionality *not* to be swept away with the rest of the world, which is in bondage to its own "righteousness." Let all faith-redeemed churchmen trust, not in themselves, but in Jesus only. Let us reaffirm our liberty in Christ today, by faith.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The devil is the most sullen spirit there is, and yet the most proud.” —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit"]

Wed., 9/27/23 Devotion (Ps. 79:1)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 79:1, where we read these words:

"O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps."

All believing Christian churchmen *want* the nations to come *into* Christ's "inheritance," (the kingdom of His New Covenant church). But we want this to be on *God's* terms, not theirs. This text (above) reflects the negative dy-namics of the nations "defiling" the "temple." When the church allows the world to set the tone and tempo of worship, it corrupts the true religion, and dishonors God.

Let us bring the nations into the church: but let them be brought under the tutelage of Christ, wherein they learn a new language, culture, and lifestyle. When we do this, we bless them, and honor God.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Keep your ear open to God and shut out sin; deaf-en your ears to the lies of the slanderer and the heretic. Do not let him have your ear who comes to rob you of your heart.” —Thomas Watson, in his ser-mon, "The Spiritual Watch"]

Tues., 9/26/23 Devotion (Gal. 2:21)

Today's encouragement comes from Galatians 2:21, where we read these great words:

"I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

The Apostle Paul was adamant about not giving in on the gospel of grace. Like us, he felt the pressure to compromise the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ—but he refused to do so. There is always a tendency in all of us to resort back to works, or law, as the means of our seeking a right standing with God. But this is to lose Jesus altogether; and to commit the most heinous spiritual crime against God—who saves His church by Christ's blood atone-ment alone, received by faith alone.

The church in Galatia temporarily caved-into the Judaizers of their day. Many in our time are doing the same thing. Let us continue to cling to Jesus, by faith—and hence, be His loyal church.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Surely it is best for you which Providence has ap-pointed, and one day you yourselves will judge it so to be.” —John Flavel, in, "The Mystery of Providence"]

Mon., 9/25/23 Devotion (Gal. 1:6)

Today's encouragement comes from Galatians 1:6, where Paul wrote this:

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— . . . " (ESV)

How was this false "gospel" “different” from the true one? It still spoke of Christ, of faith, and of repentance. It was a "different" "gospel" because it *added* things to the pure gospel. If we add but a drop of poison to a perfect-ly good glass of wine—it is no longer any good. If we add circumcision and the ceremonial law to the true gospel, it is not good news anymore. If we add anything foreign to the gospel of God’s free grace in Jesus, we now have "man's” gospel; or, more accurately, we have the "devil's” gospel—because it leads people to hell.

There is a lot at stake with regard to the biblical and preached gospel of Jesus. Let us treasure it, believe it, and die for it. But let us never pollute it, to our own destruction.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Nothing more prostitutes the conscience, and no-thing utterly undoes men more, than being fast and loose with God in sacred vows and promises.” —Richard Steele, in, "The Character of an Upright Man"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 9/22-24/23 Devotion

Praise God—it is almost Sunday again. We get to go back to church! Here is John Owen, from his, “The Spirit and The Church” book. . . .

“That there is a divine and heavenly excellency in Scripture cannot be denied, for all the works of God set forth His praise. It is impossible that anything should come directly from God without the stamp of divine excellencies upon it. But these excellencies we cannot see or discern, however glorious and majestic they are, without the effectual work of the Holy Spirit illuminating our minds.

“ ‘For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,’ (2 Cor. 4:6). The Holy Spirit irradiates the mind with a spirit-ual light by which it is enabled to discern the glory of spiritual things. . . . "

Thurs., 9/21/23 Devotion (2 Cor. 10:4-6)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, where Paul wrote these astonishing words:

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled."

Behold the armament of the church and the pastoral ministry. Paul's oppo-nents had corrupted the Corinthian congregation; and now the apostle brings out the “heavy artillery,” as he annihilates the work of the devil, and re-estab-lishes and furthers the cause of Christ.

Let all true believers remember this: discipleship begins in the church; but it does not stop there. By grace, the Corinthian Christians would eventually join with Paul and expunge the evil from their midst.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Moderate sorrow differs from immoderate sorrow in this: true sorrow stirs up holy endeavors to act in your place and calling for the deliverance of the church.” —Christopher Love, in, "The Dejected Soul's Cure"]

Wed., 9/20/23 Devotion (2 Cor. 9:8)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Corinthians 9:8, where Paul wrote these words:

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always hav-ing all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."

This promise is made to cheerful, generous, Christ-loving church members. A congregation filled with people who love Jesus never has to worry about (nor inordinately preach about) money. And note here as well that God is not stingy, nor miserly with His baptized children. Instead, He is lavish and boun-tiful with us—so much so that we are always in a good position to continually bless others who are in real need, (especially those in the church [cf. Gal. 6:10]).

The divine "pipeline” is always full. The only thing that "clogs" it is our sin. Let us live in the fullness of Christ today.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If the thing we desire is good for us, we shall have it. If it is not good, then not having it is good for us. Resting satisfied with this promise gives contentment. —Thomas Watson, in, "The Art of Divine Con-tentment"]

Tues., 9/19/23 Devotion (2 Sam. 15:25-26)

Today's encouragement comes from David's words, as they are found in 2 Samuel 15:25 & 26:

"Then the king [David] said to Zadok [the priest], 'Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place.’ "

David's attitude is a good one. He was suffering the consequences of his (for-given) sin, as Absalom was in the process of usurping his [David’s] throne. David had enough faith to believe that the ark of God should remain in Jeru-salem, even though he (David) had to leave that city. David had enough hu-mility to accept from the Lord whatever He would decree: either exile and death, or reinstatement and life.

Let us also have this perspective on life: not holding on too tightly to any of God's blessings; while clinging with all our hearts to the Lord Jesus Himself.

[Puritan quote of the day: "When Christians are more inquiring after privileges than inquiring after their duty, it is just with God to keep their comfort from them.” —Christopher Love, in, "The Dejected Soul's Cure"]

Mon., 9/18/23 Devotion (2 Cor. 7:4c, 5c)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Corinthians 7:4c & 5c, where we read these words:

" . . . I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. . . . Outside were conflicts, inside were fears."

It is helpful for us to read of the Apostle Paul's experiences. We can see (above) that even he, the stalwart of faith and strength, was "fearful" at times. But even more than this, he could find a way (in Christ) to be "joyful" in "tribu-lation."

Every true churched believer is capable of enduring a whole lot more than he or she could ever imagine that he or she could. There is valor within that will never come to the fore unless it is put through the fire (of afflictions). Still, none of us look forward to these conflicts. The only thing we like is the Christ-like character that develops in us (which brings us so much peace, stability, and happiness—all in Jesus).

[Puritan quote of the day: “People become distracted from coming to God by their own self-imposed spiritual disciplines.” —John Owen, in, "Sin and Temp-tation"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 9/15-17/23 Devotion

Thank God—Sunday is almost here again. In order to help us get ready for the church’s worship of God, here are words from John Owen’s “The Spirit and The Church” book. . . .

“Neither our Lord Jesus Christ nor His apostles ever made use of human ar-guments and reasons to bring people to believe the gospel they preached.

. . . It is true that they wrought miracles which confirmed and established their divine mission and the doctrine they taught, but the miracles of our Savior were all of them wrought among those who believed the whole of Scripture, then given, to be the word of God. . . .

“ . . . The apostles did not appeal to human reason or arguments to persuade people to believe. In fact they decried such means as unprofitable, and ap-pealed only to the authority of God working with power in and by His word preached. . . .

“The sum of what we are saying is this: We are obliged to believe the Scrip-tures to be a divine revelation solely because of the authority and truthfulness of God speaking in them. . . . “ [Italics Owen’s]

Thurs., 9/14/23 Devotion (2 Cor. 3:5-6a)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Corinthians 3:5 & 6a, where Paul wrote these words:

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from our-selves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as mini-sters of the new covenant . . . "

What has God given us to do, in this life? Are we content with our assign-ments? Are they a bit "less glamorous" than we would have desired? The suf-ficient Sovereign of heaven and earth supplies His church saints with all the resources we need in order to fulfill our God-given roles on earth. The church's ministry, which cannot be done in the flesh, is totally dependent upon the grace of Christ.

Let us not be discouraged, if we are faithful in our spheres, by grace alone. Instead of being downhearted, we have cause to thank God that He has equipped us, and honored us with His seal of love in Jesus and His church.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The Son is the fullness of God, and the church is the fullness of the Son of God.” —Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "The Glory of God"]

Wed., 9/13/23 Devotion (2 Sam. 8:6b, 14b)

Today's encouragement comes from a collation of 2 Samuel 8, vv. 6b & 14b, where we read this refrain:

"The LORD preserved David wherever he went. . . . And the LORD preserved David wherever he went."

The Holy Spirit is certainly making a point here. David, the man subject to lots of dangers in his military exploits, and in his being the target of many schem-ing enemies—is preserved by the God who loved him so very much. So it is with every faithful Christian churchman: our way may be tough, the cross is always difficult for us; but our Father is good, tender, loving, gentle, and kind.

Let us never lose heart, if we belong to Christ. Our victory in Him is sure; and our safety is sealed by God Himself.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Our victory will be further realized as the new man immediately springs to action, and cheerfully fights against lust the moment it appears.” —John Owen, in, "The Mortification of Sin"]