Fri.-Sabbath, 7/3-5/26 Devotion

Happy 250th Birthday, USA!

Praise God—Sunday is almost here again. To help get us ready for church, here is Thomas Watson, from his, "A Divine Cordial” book. . . .

"Love will make us stoop to the meanest [lowest] offices. Love is a humble grace, it does not walk abroad in state [or, “strut around”]; it will creep upon its hands. It will stoop and submit to anything whereby it may be serviceable to Christ. As we see in Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, both of them honorable persons, yet one takes down Christ's body with his own hands, and the other embalms it with sweet odors [spices]. It might seem much for persons of their rank to be employed in that service, but love made them do it. If we love God, we shall not think any work too mean [low] for us, by which we may be helpful to Christ's members. Love is not squeamish; it will visit the sick, relieve the poor, wash the saints' wounds. The mother that loves her child is not coy and nice; she will do those things for her child which others would scorn to do. He who loves God will humble himself to the meanest [lowest] office of love to Christ and His members."

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Thurs., 7/2/26 Devotion (Matt. 12:14)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 12:14, where we read these words:

“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against [Jesus], how to destroy him.” (ESV)

Unregenerate though passionate overtly-religious sinners are the worst hu-man enemies of the Triune God, by far. “Garden-variety” sinners, who make no pompous claims to their own “righteousness,” are much to be preferred to Pharisees, hypocrites, and cruel, vicious religionists.

In the preceding verse, our Messiah had just cured a poor man of his wither-ed hand. What was the Pharisees’ reaction? Thankfulness? Praise? Wonder? No; they—the ones who claimed to uphold the Ten Commandments—“con-spire” to murder the Son of God who stood in their midst. No wonder they will occupy such low places in hell, barring regeneration and repentance.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Grace is not glorious if we add the least thing of our own to it.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "Glorious Freedom"]

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Tues., 6/30/26 Devotion (Matt. 10:38)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 10:38, where we read these words:

“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (ESV)

These words of our blessed Messiah Jesus have kept a lot of honest people outside of the Christian faith, the church, eternal life, and heaven. But, for those elect souls who have become convinced, by sovereign grace, that Jesus is worth everything—they are willing to bear the cross.

“Bearing” our “cross” is to be identified with Christ (especially) in His suffer-ings and death (Php. 3:10); but also in His burial, resurrection, ascension, session, and glory in heaven.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Christ was made sin for saints, therefore their sin shall not hurt them.” —William Bridge, in, "A Lifting Up For the Downcast"]

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Mon., 6/29/26 Devotion (Isa. 61:1a)

Today's encouragement comes from Isaiah 61:1a, where these great words are found:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor . . . ” (ESV)

Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ directly applied these words to Himself (in Lk. 4:18 ff.). Jesus came here to earth to save dirty, rotten sinners—who had be-come because of their sin—“poor,” and “captives,” “blind,” and “oppressed,” (see the balance of the texts).

Christ did not come to this fallen planet to redeem self-righteous people who think they can add anything to their supposed standing with God. Rather, He atones for those who recognize, by God’s grace, their total unworthiness and degradation. Let all the elect be “Prodigal” sons and daughters of the King of heaven—and come to Jesus joyfully, by faith.

[Puritan quote of the day: "There is nothing within us that could justify, but something without us; not any righteousness inherent, but imputed. We may as well look for a star in the earth as for justification in our own righteous-ness.” —Thomas Watson, in, "A Body of Divinity"]

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Fri.-Sabbath, 6/26-28/26 Devotion

As we prepare for Sunday's church worship, let us allow these words of Jona-than Edwards, from his sermon entitled, "A Warning to Professors of Reli-gion," to bless our hearts. . . .

"When we are in attendance on the ordinances of divine worship, we are in the special presence of God. When persons come and attend on the ordinan-ces of God, they are said to come before God, and to come into His pres-ence. Jer. 7:10: 'Come and stand before Me, in this house which is called by My Name.' Ps. 100:2: 'Come before His presence with singing.'

"In divine ordinances, persons have immediate [interaction] with God, either in applying to Him (as in prayer and singing praises), or in receiving from him, waiting solemnly and immediately on Him for spiritual good (as in hearing the Word), or in both applying to God and receiving from Him (as in the sacra-ments [baptism and the Lord's Supper])."

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Thurs., 6/25/26 Devotion (Matt. 5:20)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 5:20, where our Savior said these words, in His "Sermon on the Mount":

"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

People naturally and understandably think that the scribes’ and Pharisees’ “righteousness” required a lot of them. And, in one sense it did. But the truth is, that their (false) “righteousness” is the “easy” one, the “doable” one. True, gospel righteousness in Jesus’ blood and resurrection is *infinitely* more dif-ficult to attain. In fact, it is impossible, except by miraculous regeneration.

The religion of works or performance is “a piece of cake,” compared to “taking up one’s cross” and “following” Jesus. Let us throw ourselves entirely on our Savior, and forsake all self-righteousness.

[Puritan quote of the day: "As godly men shall never be condemned for their sins, so their sins shall never part God and them.” —William Bridge, in, "A Lifting Up For the Downcast"]

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Wed., 6/24/26 Devotion (Isa. 56:6b, 7a)

Today's encouragement comes from Isaiah 56:6b & 7a, where we read these words:

" . . . Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My cove-nant—even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. . . . "

There is, I think, such a thing as “covenantal perfection”—where the regener-ate saints of Christ’s church are so much in love with God, that they keep, by His grace alone, the stipulations of the “covenant.” By this, I mean, they are joyful in the church services every Sunday/they submit to the discipline of the church/and they do the work of the ministry.

In our natural selves, we are infinitely gross sinners. In Jesus, we are new creatures. In our daily walks, we continue to sin, though we are making prog-ress in Christlikeness. In our outward covenant in the church we are “perfect-ly” faithful, by grace.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Prayer is the pouring out of the soul to God; not the pouring out of words, nor the pouring out of expressions; but the pouring out of the soul to God.” —William Bridge, in, "A Lifting Up For the Downcast"]

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