Mon., 10/21/24 Devotion (Ps. 112:6b-7)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 112:6b & 7, where we read these words:

" . . . The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD."

Whereas the memory of the wicked "rots," (Prov. 10:7); God's redeemed churchmen leave a blessed and enduring legacy and heritage. On top of this, those who are in Jesus, and who enjoy His righteousness, are not "afraid of evil tidings." Instead, their hearts are "steadfast, trusting in the Lord."

Why is this important? Because circumstances of life—be they of whatever sort—are not to determine how happy, nor how settled we are. Let us fight a good fight of faith; let us run a good race of faith; and let us keep the faith—but, at the end of the day, let us leave it all in the good and sovereign hands of our faithful God.

[Edwards quote of the day: "If you have the favor of God, this doctrine [of en-couragement] teaches you that you need not be afraid of enemies; for who-ever is your enemy, God looks upon as His enemy.” —Jonathan Edwards, in one of his sermons]

Fri.-Sabbath, 10/18-20/24 Devotion

Praise God—Sunday is almost here! We get to worship God, corporately! In order to help get us ready for church, here is the incomparable Thomas Wat-son, from his work entitled, "The Happiness of Drawing Near to God.” . . .

"And as Christ makes the way for us into the Holy of Holies by His incarna-tion: so by His crucifixion, He died to make God and us friends. The divine law being infringed, God's justice was provoked, and satisfaction was de-manded, before we could approach to God in an amicable way. Now here Christ as our Priest shed His blood for our sins, and so made the atonement, (Col. 1:20): 'Having made peace through the blood of His cross.' As Joseph being so great at court, made way for all his brethren to draw near into the king's presence, (Gen. 47:2)—so Jesus Christ is our Joseph, who makes the way for us by His blood, that we may now come near into God's presence. Through Christ, God is pleased with us; He holds forth the golden scepter, that we may draw near, and touch the top of the scepter."

Thurs., 10/17/24 Devotion (Dan. 2:44)

Today's encouragement comes from Daniel 2:44, where we read these words:

"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."

Daniel is speaking to Nebuchadnezzar here, and he is explaining the king's dream. The "kingdom" that Daniel is referring to here, is the establishment of, and the proliferation of the New Covenant church, by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Savior's kingdom is now in the process of "break[ing] in[to] pieces" all op-posing "kingdoms."

Some of these counterfeit "kingdoms" arise even among professing, errant Christians. Others of them are wholly and self-proclaimedly "anti-Christian." All of them are in the process of falling at the feet of King Jesus. For this, let all the churched kingdom people give Him praise—even now.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Many, in a fit of terror, are willing to do or to suffer anything to keep out of hell and go to heaven; but when the fit is over, they will not deny themselves and take up the cross to follow Christ.” —Isaac Am-brose, in, "The Christian Warrior"]

Wed., 10/16/24 Devotion (1 Thess. 2:4)

Today's encouragement comes from 1 Thessalonians 2:4, where we read these words:

"But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts."

The ministers of the church who are truly called by God are sent to speak to all people everywhere the gospel of Christ's grace. But we are to do so with our minds on the Triune God first. God is our principal “Audience.” What is it that *God* wants us to say? This is what must be preached. The faithful cler-gy do not poll the people, to determine what they want to hear. Instead, we "poll" the Lord (via His written Word), in order to know what He would have us proclaim.

This principle is then passed down to the entire church, wherein the people of God begin to think this way, too. They begin to ask, "What is it that Christ would have me do, and say?" This is the way to be effective for Jesus in the world. Then, when God "tests our hearts," we pass with flying colors—be-cause of Christ alone.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Christ is in the ship of His church; do not fear sink-ing. The church's anchor is cast in heaven. Do we not think that God loves His church, and takes as much care of it as we can?” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Art of Divine Contentment"]

Tues., 10/15/24 Devotion (1 Ki. 18:21a)

Today's encouragement comes from 1 Kings 18:21a, where we read these words:

"And Elijah came to all the people, and said, 'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. . . . ' "

I like this perspective, put forth by the prophet Elijah. Even today this principle still applies. All people worship some deity (alleged, or true). Our attitude should sincerely be: "Let the best [God] win." Is the Muslim god the true one? Then everybody should worship it. Is the atheists' god the true one? Then we should bow down to it. Is the secularists' god true? Let all men honor it (or her, or whatever). Is the Triune God of the faithful Christian church the only Real Deity that exists? Then, all human beings should worship Him.

. . . It turns out that the Holy Trinity *is* the one and only God. We know this—among other reasons—by the resurrection of the Son of God, who lives and reigns today. Christ can withstand all pretenders to His throne. Let us worship the Christian God; and not fear any of the fake ones.

[Puritan quote of the day: "There are the greatest reasons in the world to be a Christian . . . “ —Richard Sibbes, in, "Glorious Freedom"]

Mon., 10/14/24 Devotion (Ezek. 47:12b)

Today's encouragement comes from Ezekiel 47:12b, where we read these amazing words:

"They [the trees] will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine."

The first part of Ezekiel, ch. 47, is remarkable—one of my favorite sections of the Bible. The expanse of the New Covenant church, and the spread of Jesus' gospel of grace are all in view here. This is all happening today. Christ dwells in the "sanctuary," (the church). The church, through the Holy Spirit's application of the gospel, feeds, nourishes, and heals the world. And, in time, the "knowledge of the Lord covers the earth, as the waters cover the sea.” (Cf. Hab. 2:14.)

Let us be thankful that the God of heaven has *not* abandoned His fallen world, or the people therein. He has left His colony, the church, here. As the Body of Christ, let us be "feeders" and "healers" of the whole earth—through the preaching of the gospel of our Redeemer’s free and abundant grace.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Grace continues and increases.” —Richard Sib-bes, in "Glorious Freedom"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 10/11-13/24 Devotion

Praise God—Sunday is almost here. In order to help get us ready for church, here is Thomas Watson, from his, "The Lord's Prayer” book. . . .

"If all be a gift, then it is not a debt, and we cannot say to God as that creditor who said, 'Pay me what you owe,' (Matt. 18:28). Who can make God a debt-or, or do any act that is obliging and meritorious? Whatever we receive from God is a gift; we can give nothing to Him but what He has given to us. 'All things come from You, and of Your own have we given to You, ' (1 Chron. 29:14).

"David and his people offered to the building of God's house gold and silver, but they offered nothing but what God had given them. 'Of Your own have we given You.' If we love God, it is He that has given us a heart to love Him. If we praise Him, He both gives us the organ of tongue, and puts it in tune. If we give alms to others, He has given alms to us first, so that we may say, 'We of-fer, O Lord, of Your own to You.' Is all a gift, how absurd, then, is the doctrine of merit? . . . We cannot deserve a bit of bread, much less a crown of glory. If all be a gift, then merit is exploded, and shut out of doors."