Fri.-Sabbath, 1/7-9/11 Devotion

Hip, hip, hooray--it's almost Sunday! We *get* to go to church, and worship God! In order to help us get ready, here is the venerable Pu-
ritan pastor Thomas Watson. This quote comes from his, "A Body of Divinity" book. . . .

"What are the counterfeits of sanctification?

"There are things which look like sanctification, but are not.

"The first counterfeit of sanctification is moral virtue: to be just, be temperate, to be of a fair deportment. Not to have one's reputation blotted with ignominious scandal is good, but not enough; it is not sanctification. A field-flower differs from a garden-flower. Heathens have attained to morality; as Cato, Socrates, and Aristides. Civility is but nature refined; there is nothing of Christ there, and the heart may be foul and impure. Under these fair leaves of civility the worm of unbelief may be hid. A moral person has a secret antipathy against grace; he hates vice, and he hates grace as much as vice. The snake has a fine colour, but a sting. A person adorned and cultivated with moral virtue, has a secret spleen against sanctity. The Stoics who were the chief of the moralized heathens, were the bitterest enemies Paul had, (Acts 17:18).

"The second counterfeit of sanctification is superstitious devotion. . . . A superstitious holiness costs no great labour; there is nothing of the heart in it.

"The third counterfeit of sanctification is hypocrisy; when men make a pretence of that holiness which they have not. As a comet may shine like a star, a lustre may shine from their profession that dazzles the eyes of the beholders. 'Having a form of godliness, but denying the power,' (2 Tim 3:5). These are lamps without oil; whited sepulchres, like the Egyptian temples, which had fair outsides, but within spiders and apes. . . . To pretend to holiness when there is none is a vain thing. What were the foolish virgins better for their blazing lamps, when they wanted oil? What is the lamp of profession without the oil of saving grace? What comfort will a show of holiness yield at last? Will painted gold enrich? painted wine refresh him that is thirsty? or painted holiness be a cordial at the hour of death? A pretence of sanctification is not to be rested in."

Thurs., 1/6/11 Devotion (Matt. 6:27)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 6:27, where we find our Savior saying these words:

"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"

Worry is the opposite of faith. Worry says, "I cannot really trust God to take care of my concerns; I need to take matters into my own hands." Worry is highly God-dishonoring. People that are given to worry "worry" that, if they quit worrying, they are no longer caring for or about the objects of their worry. But this is a misguided approach. Care does not necessitate worry. In fact, the greatest expressions of care don't worry at all--instead they trust God with the concern.

Let's face it: worry is a malady and affliction that befalls all of us sin-
ners. But we need not live in it. If we want *real* solutions to the heart-concerns that are so important to us, then we are wise if we trust God to take care of them. Are you a faith-filled churchman to-
day, trusting in Jesus alone for your salvation? If so, then worry has no part of your life. (If not, you have plenty to worry about.)

[Puritan quote of the day: "Ground your comfort upon a lasting and unchangeable covenant, on such a covenant that accepts will for works, desires for deeds, and endeavors for performances." --Chris-
topher Love, in, "The Dejected Soul's Cure"]

Wed., 1/5/11 Devotion (Matt. 5:20)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 5:20, where we read these words of Christ:

"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteous-
ness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the king-
dom of heaven."

When Jesus said this to His disciples, in His "Sermon on the Mount," it undoubtedly raised some eyebrows. After all, how could anybody do more than the scribes and Pharisees? They "out-Godded" God at every turn. If the Lord said, "Fast once a year"; they would fast twice a week. And yet their "righteousness" was not even close to being good enough to get them to heaven. Why? . . .

Because we have to appear before God--even now--as perfect, (with no flaw or sin whatsoever). And how does anyone get to this condi-
tion? Are there enough works or deeds or efforts that can be expend-
ed, to get perfect? No. Only Jesus is perfect. We must possess *His* righteousness, by faith, wherein it is imputed to our souls. Let the faithful church rejoice that we have this standing, in Christ.

[Puritan quote of the day: "And so to come into God's presence is the greatest joy for a godly man in this life, to come into God's presence in His ordinances in His Church." --Christopher Love, in "The Dejected Soul's Cure"]

Tues., 1/4/11 Devotion (Matt. 4:1)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 4:1, where we read these words:

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

People often like to think of the Holy Spirit as the one Person of the Holy Trinity that *always* leads them into pleasurable ways and pas-
tures. Whereas they might envision having to "suffer with Jesus"; and/or undergoing the discipline of the Heavenly Father--it is nor-
mally assumed that everything associated with the Holy Spirit is "pos-
itive."

But here the Spirit intentionally *leads* the Son of God into the "wil-
derness," to "be tempted by the devil." Why? So that, in overcoming these demon-proffered "shortcuts" to glory, the Messiah would rather go to the cross, and rise from the dead for His church. When the Spirit leads us into hard roads, let us recognize that it is for good reason: that we will be more Christlike in the end.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If once you come to receive the mercy of God in and through Christ Jesus, then that mercy will be the greatest opposer of your lusts and sin as anything can be in the world." --Jere-
miah Burroughs, a book of his sermons, entitled, "Gospel Remission"]

Mon., 1/3/11 Devotion (Matt. 3:1-2)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 3:1 & 2, where we read these words:

"In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!' "

*Why* was the "Kingdom of heaven" "at hand" when John the Baptist preached these words (above)? Because *Jesus* was "at hand." Very soon, He (Christ) would be baptized into His own church, wherein He would be the Head (of the Body), and King of kings.

Wherever there is Jesus, there is not only heaven itself, but the King-
dom of God itself. After Christ's death and resurrection, He ascended into heaven, where He is now (not later) crowned King of His church, and the Sovereign Ruler over all God's creation. This is one of the reasons we get excited about church: by being the church, and by worshipping as the church, we draw close to our King.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If the church is beautiful beyond all other of the children of men, how beautiful is Jesus Christ, from whom the church derives all its comeliness?" --Thomas Vincent, in, "The True Christian's Love to the Unseen Christ"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 12/31/10-1/2/11 Devotion

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Wahoo--it's almost Sunday! We *get* to return to the church, to wor-
ship God! In order to help us get ready, here is Thomas Watson, from his, "A Body of Divinity" book:

"When was Christ incarnate?

"In the fulness of time. 'When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman,' (Gal 4:4). By the fulness of time we must understand [it to be] the determinate time that God had set. More particularly, this fulness of time was when all the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah were accomplished; and all legal shadows and figures, whereby He was typified, were abrogated. This may com-
fort us, in regard to the church of God, that though at present we do not see that peace and purity in the church which we could desire, yet in the fulness of time, when God's time is come and mercy is ripe, then shall deliverance spring up, and God will come riding upon the chariots of salvation.

"Why was Jesus Christ made flesh?

"The 'causa prima,' and impulsive cause, was free grace. It was love in God the Father to send Christ, and love in Christ that He came to be incarnate. Love was the intrinsic motive. Christ is God-Man, because He is a lover of man. Christ came out of pity and indulgence to us: 'non merita nostra, sed misera nostra,' Augustine. 'Not our deserts, but our misery,' made Christ take flesh. Christ's taking flesh was a plot of free grace, and a pure design of love. God Himself, though Almighty, was overcome with love. Christ Incarnate is nothing but love covered with flesh. As Christ's assuming our human nature was a masterpiece of wisdom, so it was a monument of free grace."

Thurs., 12/30/10 Devotion (Mal. 3:17a)

Today's encouragement comes from Malachi 3:17a, where we read these words:

" 'They shall be Mine,' says the LORD of hosts, 'On the day that I make them My jewels.' "

Have you ever thought of yourself as one of Almighty God's "jewels"? If you are a faith-filled churchman, who trusts in Jesus alone for your salvation, and who loves the Lord because of what He has done for you--then indeed you *are* a precious "jewel" in God's treasure chest.

Compared to one sincere member of Christ's church, the entire far-flung and vast universe (which God created) is of minimal value and interest to the Lord. *People* are God's "jewels"; and not just *any* person: only those who are IN Jesus Christ (and His church) by grace through faith alone. Let *us* be numbered among these Divine prizes.

[Puritan quote of the day: "[God's] riches make a man wise. Wisdom is the best possession; other riches cannot make one wise. A man may have a full purse and an empty brain." --Thomas Watson, in his ser-
mon, "The Beauty of Grace"]