Thurs., 3/17/22 Devotion (Ex. 28:12b)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Today's encouragement comes from Exodus 28:12b, where we read these words:

" . . . So Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a memorial."

Whereas Aaron the high priest bore the names of the tribes of Israel before the Lord, as he entered the Most Holy Place—so our Lord Jesus Christ bears the individual names of all His redeemed churchmen, as He presents us to the Father as the beneficiaries of His atonement.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the church's final, and one and only high priest. If we are in Christ today—by faith and by baptism—let us not be overly disturbed by our sins. They have been dealt with at the cross.  A Person, (Jesus Christ), who possesses infinite worth, has died for them; and He is now forever risen from the dead, interceding for us in heaven.

[Puritan quote of the day: "It is not always high water with saints, sometimes they are reduced to a very low ebb.” —Thomas Brooks, in, "Heaven on Earth"]

Wed., 3/16/22 Devotion (Jn. 6:66-68)

Today's encouragement comes from the wonderful interchange between Christ and His disciples, as it is found in John 6:66-68:

"From that time many of [Christ's] disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to go away?' But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' "

This is a very poignant scene in the ministry of our Messiah. After intentional-ly paring-down the numbers of His "disciples" by teaching them that they would have to ingest Him into their beings, and that God alone could draw them to Himself, etc.—the Lord Jesus is left with just a few remaining hearty souls, (one of which was Judas, who, of course, was the betrayer).

Peter's confession—representing the true church throughout all ages—is not only brilliantly insightful, but it was also eminently practical: there is nowhere for us to go in this world, but to Jesus—unless we prefer sin, death, and hell.

[Puritan quote of the day: "When the Word comes to any place, the kingdom of heaven is said to come. . . . and Christ rules in it by the preaching of the gospel.” —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "Gospel Remission"]

Tues., 3/15/22 Devotion (Jn. 5:6)

Today's encouragement comes from John 5:6, where we read these words:

"When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?' "

At first glance Christ's question (above) to the lame man seems out of place. After all, does not everyone want to be "made well"? Actually, no; and this is why Jesus inquired of the infirm person. A lot of people are comfortable with their maladies—especially as it relates to a life of sin. They literally do *not* "want" to be made well.

It is actually a blessing to desire good things—and health and well-being are some of them. It is one thing to be unwell (in whatever way this may be); but it is quite another thing to be content to be in that state. God would have us de-sire Christ, His wholeness, and all blessings in Him—as the redeemed church.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Sometimes persons live in ways of sin and are not sensible of it because they are blinded by common custom and the examples of others.” —Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "The Necessity of Self-Exam-ination"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 3/11-13/22 Devotion

Praise God—it is almost Sunday. We get to go back to church! To help get us ready for worship, here are good words from the inimitable John Calvin, as they are found in his great “Institutes of the Christian Religion” book. . . .

“It would be just as futile for us to aim at righteousness without religion as it would be to make a beautiful display of a headless corpse! But to be truthful, religion is not only the head of righteousness and virtue, it is in a sense their soul as well, which gives them vitality. Men will never preserve fairness and love among each other without the fear of God.

“That is why we call God’s worship the beginning and foundation of righteous-ness, seeing that, once it disappears, everything which men might contrive in order to live upright, chaste and sober lives is vain and empty in God’s sight."

Thurs., 3/10/22 Devotion (Lk. 24:45)

Today's encouragement comes from Luke 24:45, where we read these words:

"And [Jesus] opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."

The Scriptures are important to Christ—and so is our comprehension (or un-derstanding) of them. It could be argued that to possess the Bible, but not to grasp what it means, is of little good, and could even be dangerous. The Holy Book can only benefit us when and if the Son of God, through the Holy Spirit's work, "opens our understanding."

When this happens, we discover that we are being pointed to Jesus Christ in every line (cf. vv. 25, 27, 44). We also comprehend that the Scriptures are covenantal documents, to be elucidated and applied in the context of the community of the visible church (cf. 2 Tim. 4:1-2). How about us, today? Has Christ opened our understandings, so that we might rightly comprehend the texts of the Bible—that all speak of Him?

[Puritan quote of the day: "Only Christ can satisfy the soul. All other ways and things will only end in disappointment.” —John Owen, in, "Communion with God"]

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"]