Wed., 3/9/22 Devotion (Job 38:4a)

Today's encouragement comes from Job 38:4a, where we read these words:

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? . . . "

How would we like to have God ask us this question (above)? Simply hearing this would humble us right down to the dust. The reality is that there is a sense in which the Lord *does* pose this query before us every time we imagine that we know better than He does; or every time we complain about His providences (and the way they work) in our lives.

None of us had yet been created when God "laid the foundations of the earth." Therefore, none of us have any right to instruct God on how He ought to run His universe. This one thing is for sure: we could not do a better job than He can. Let all of us Christian churchmen come to more implicitly trust our Heavenly Father, believing the best of Him always—especially based on His love for us in Christ.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Are your sins high as heaven? The mercies of God are above the heavens.” —Isaac Ambrose, in, "The Christian Warrior"]

Tues., 3/8/22 Devotion (Ex. 19:8b, 9b)

Today's encouragement comes from Exodus 19:8b & 9b, where we read these words:

" . . . So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. . . . So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD."

We might be wondering, "Why did God have Moses do this? After all, the Lord could hear what the people said—nothing escapes His notice; He knows all things.” All this is granted, but The LORD is a Covenant God. In other words, He operates with His people (church) through a Mediator (ultimately Jesus Christ). When God deals with the rest of the world, He does not employ an atoning Mediator; but when He communes with His church, He always does.

No one has any access to God except through Jesus. No one comes to God "directly.” The Lord may *only* be approached through a Perfect God/Man In-tercessor (Jesus Christ). Moses (here in Ex. 19) is a "type" of Christ. Outside of our Lord Jesus Christ there is virtually no way to the True God.

[Puritan quote of the day: "This true God is joy in sadness, light in darkness, life in death, heaven in hell.” —Thomas Shepard, in, "The Sincere Convert"]

Mon., 3/7/22 Devotion (2 Cor. 6:1)

Today's encouragement comes from the words of Paul, as they are found in 2 Corinthians 6:1:

"We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain."

How is the grace of God received "in vain”—even potentially by regenerated, sincere Christians? It is "received in vain" when we *forget* that our right-eousness is all contained in Jesus Christ *alone*. The previous verse, (2 Cor. 5:21), had taught us the glories of imputed righteousness and substitutionary atonement. But our flesh continually recoils at such marvels; and seeks to regain its perverse "credibility" (even with God).

So, when we cease to look to Christ alone for our redemption, (and we gaze upon ourselves or something else), we receive the grace of God "in vain." Is Jesus our righteousness? Then let us look no further.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Christ is never really absent from such as love Him, but He may seem to be so sometimes.” —Thomas Vincent, in, "The True Christian's Love to the Unseen Christ"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 3/4-6/22 Devotion

Praise God—it is almost Sunday. We get to go back to church, and worship God as His covenanted people! In order to help get us ready for the Sabbath (Resurrection) Day, here are some beautiful words of John Calvin, from his monumental, “Institutes of the Christian Religion.” . . .

“That Jesus Christ is the proper goal and object of our faith, is easily shown by the fact that every part of our salvation is reckoned and included in

Him. . . . For by Christ’s hand God accomplished His work of mercy, the re-demption of His people. . . .

"In Christ, and nowhere else, will we find salvation. . . . Accordingly Scripture states that there is no other Name under heaven by which we may be saved, (Acts 4:12). . . . This Name therefore teaches believers that only in Christ should we look for salvation, and it assures us that we will find it there."

Thurs., 3/3/22 Devotion (Lk. 17:5)

Today's encouragement comes from Luke 17:5, where we read these words:

"And the apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith.' "

When we believers in Christ are faced with impossible tasks, typically a good prayer to God is: "Increase our faith." And though this is a desirable end; the Lord does not always answer this request in the way we would expect. In-stead, sometimes He teaches us that we do not need *a lot* faith; but that rather we need real and applied *sincere* faith—which is always centered in and on Jesus.

Let us be sure that we do not look for more of anything in our Christian lives, without first availing ourselves of what we already possess. The exercise of faith does not require a lot of religious fanfare; but it does call on our hearts to truly cling to The Christ of the Gospel.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The true God perfectly knows the circumstances of everyone who prays to Him throughout the world.” —Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "The Most High a Prayer-Hearing God"]

Wed., 3/2/22 Devotion (Lk. 16:31)

Today's encouragement comes from Luke 16:31, where we read these words:

"But he ['Abraham'] said to him [the 'rich man'], ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ "

Since faith is sovereignly given to sinners through *hearing* the gospel preached (Rom. 10:17), and not through *seeing* miracles performed—we should not be surprised to hear this principle taught in this text (above) by our Lord Jesus.

Sometimes well-meaning and sincere Christians mistakenly think that sinners will be converted to Christ by their *seeing* various spectacular religious mar-vels (like even someone rising from the dead). But this is not the case at all. Instead, God miraculously saves people through the hearing of the Good News. Via this message of supreme grace in Jesus, the Holy Spirit sovereign-ly converts those God has chosen to redeem.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If we once get the victory over ourselves, all other things are conquered easily.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Soul's Conflict With Itself"]

Tues., 3/1/22 Devotion (Lk. 15:21)

Today's encouragement comes from Luke 15:21, where we read these great words:

"And the [prodigal] son said to [his father], ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ "

This is a most poignant and beautiful section of Holy Scripture. The Prodigal Son is on his way home. He has been rehearsing his lines. He is saying to himself, "Remember to say, 'I have sinned.’ Do not forget the, ‘No longer worthy' part. And be sure to finish with, 'Make me like one of your hired ser-vants.' "

The repentant son does pretty well at reciting his prepared speech to his fa-ther—but before he ever gets to his last line (about being a hired servant), his father is all over him, showering love and acceptance on him. So it is with our good and glorious God: He is a loving Father, who forgives His own elect chil-dren of His church, and receives them into His embraces. This parable is a vivid picture of God's love for the people Jesus procured with His precious blood atonement.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If anything in us or on our part could stop God lov-ing us [His church], then He would long ago have turned away from us.”

—John Owen, in, "Communion with God"]