Fri.-Sabbath, 7/29-31/11 Devotion

Wahoo--it's almost Sunday again! We *get* to go to church and wor-
ship God! In order to help us get ready, here is the great Puritan pas-
tor Richard Sibbes, from his amazing, "The Bruised Reed" classic. . . .

"HOW WE SHOULD THINK OF CHRIST

"When we think of Joseph, Daniel, John the Evangelist, we frame conceptions of them with delight, as of mild and sweet persons. Much more when we think of Christ, we should conceive of Him as a mirror of all meekness. If the sweetness of all flowers were in one, how sweet must that flower be? In Christ all perfections of mercy and love meet. How great then must that mercy be that lodges in so gracious a heart? Whatever tenderness is scattered in husband, father, brother, head, all is but a beam from Him; it is in Him in the most eminent manner. We are weak, but we are His; we are deformed, but yet carry His image upon us. A father looks not so much at the blemishes of his child as at his own nature in him; so Christ finds matter of love from that which is His own in us. He sees His own nature in us: we are diseased, but yet His members. Whoever neglected his own members because they were sick or weak? None ever hated his own flesh. Can the head forget the members? Can Christ forget Himself? We are His fullness, as He is ours. He was love itself clothed with man's nature, which He united so near to Himself, that He might communicate His goodness the more freely to us. And He took not our nature when it was at its best, but when it was abased, with all the natural and com-
mon infirmities it was subject to.

"Let us therefore abhor all suspicious thoughts, as either cast in or cherished by that damned spirit who, as he labored to divide between the Father and the Son by jealousies, by saying, 'If You be the Son of God' (Matt. 4:6), so his daily study is to divide between the Son and us by breeding false opinions in us of Christ, as if there were not such tender love in Him to such as we are. It was Satan's art from the be-
ginning to discredit God with man, by calling God's love into question with our first father Adam. His success then makes him ready at that weapon still."

Thurs., 7/28/11 Devotion (Judg. 11:24)

Today's encouragement comes from Judges 11:24, where we read these words:

"Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God takes possession of before us, we will possess."

These are the words of Jephthah (above), as he spoke to the king of Ammon. What he is basically saying is this: "Hey, if you want to wor-
ship your false god--go ahead and do so--and receive from it whatever good you think you might. But let's play fair: on the same basis we will receive good things from the True God, the Lord (Yahweh)."

Of course, on these grounds, the unbelieving world is not only at a disadvantage--it is sure to be defeated (by the One God of the true religion). Even today, let all faithful Christians recognize that the "gates of Hades cannot prevail against" Christ's church, (Matt. 16:18).

[Puritan quote of the day: "One word of God can do more than ten thousand words of men to relieve a distressed soul." --John Flavel, in, "The Mystery of Providence"]

Wed., 7/27/11 Devotion (Acts 14:22b, 23)

Today's encouragement comes from Acts 14:22b & 23, where we read these words:

" 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.' So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they [Paul and Barnabas] commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed."

It is intriguing how the Holy Spirit juxtaposes here the fact that be-
lievers will have tribulation in their kingdom journey on earth, with the establishment of the local churches' eldership boards [or sessions]. It's as if God is saying, "Look, it's going to be tough--now here is your community of support."

Life is not easy. Let us not try to live the Christian walk on our own. To do so is a recipe for certain failure. Let us take advantage of God's provision of His church.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Jacob got the blessing in the garment of his elder brother. So, in the garment of Christ, our older brother, we obtain the blessing." --Thomas Watson, in his sermon, "Christ All in All"]

Tues., 7/26/11 Devotion (Mk. 8:34b-35)

Today's encouragement comes from Mark 8:34b & 35, wherein the Lord Jesus said this:

"Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."

Notice that the key here is the twice-repeated word, "desires." What do we desire? If we desire to follow Jesus, this is good--but it will cost us something. It will cost us our sin, our autonomy, and our false sense of "freedom." We cannot live in Christ, until we die to ourselves. This is very difficult. In fact, aside from sovereign grace, it is impos-
sible.

But, once we do this, we are truly liberated. Jesus will be no man's debtor. If we give Him what we are--He will give us far more than we could ever imagine.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Consider that God's mercy and Christ's merits in pardoning the guilt of the sin you have committed are far greater than the greatness of your own guilt." --Christopher Love, in, "The Dejected Soul's Cure"]

Mon., 7/25/11 Devotion (Mk. 7:15)

Today's encouragement comes from Mark 7:15, where the Lord Jesus said this:

"There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man."

These words lay out a basic criterion between the true religion and all false religion. False religion is always concerned about externals, first and foremost, and exclusively. The true religion is concerned about the wicked nature of the heart, and how this issue must be resolved before a Holy God.

False religion is very easy to practice: do a few things, and one can pretend he is in God's good standing. True religion requires sorrow for heart sins, repentance, and faith in the only Redeemer of God's elect.

[Puritan quote of the day: "It is a true rule in divinity that the desire for any grace is the grace itself; for to desire to believe is faith, and true desire to repent is repentance, and true desire to mourn for sin is mourning for sin." --Christopher Love, in, "The Dejected Soul's Cure"]

Fri.-Sabbath, 7/22-24/11 Devotion

Wahoo--it's almost Sunday! We *get* to go back to church! Here is Rev. Richard Sibbes, the great Puritan pastor, from his, "The Bruised Reed" book. . . .

"THE TRIUMPH OF GRACE

"Those that are under Christ's government have the spirit of revela-
tion, whereby they see and feel a divine power sweetly and strongly enabling them to preserve faith when they feel the contrary, and hope in a state which is hopeless, and love to God under signs of His dis-
pleasure, and heavenly-mindedness in the midst of worldly affairs and allurements which draw a contrary way. They feel a power preserving patience, nay joy, in the midst of causes of mourning, inward peace in the midst of assaults. Whence is it that, when assaulted with temp-
tation and compassed with troubles, we have stood firm, but from a secret strength upholding us? To make so little grace so victorious over so great a mass of corruption, this requires a spirit more than human. This is like preserving fire in the sea, and a part of heaven even, as it were, in hell. Here we know where to obtain this power, and to Whom to return the praise of it. And it is our happiness that it is so safely hid in Christ for His, in one so near to God and us.

"Since the fall, God will not trust us with our own salvation, but it is both purchased and kept by Christ for us, and we for it through faith, wrought by the power of God, which we lay hold of. This power is gloriously set forth by Paul: it is (1) a great power; (2) an exceeding power; (3) a working and a mighty power; (4) such a power as was wrought in raising Christ from the dead (Eph. 1:19, 20). That grace which is but a persuasive offer and in our power to receive or refuse is not the grace which brings us to heaven. But God's people feel a pow-
erful work of the Spirit, not only revealing to us our misery and de-
liverance through Christ, but emptying us of ourselves, as being re-
deemed from ourselves, and infusing new life into us, and afterwards strengthening us and quickening us when we droop and hang the wing, never leaving us till the conquest is perfect."

Thurs., 7/21/11 Devotion (Acts 8:35)

Today's encouragement comes from Acts 8:35, where these words are spoken of Philip, with regard to the Ethiopian eunuch:

"Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him."

Anywhere we turn in our Bibles we find, ultimately, the very same message: it is that the Son of God would be/is incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and glorified. Some texts, like the Isaiah passage that Philip expounded to the Ethiopian, are more specific than others--but every jot and tittle of the OT, and every Greek letter of the NT speaks of Jesus.

Let this inform us as we study the Scriptures, and when we share its truth with others. If we do not "preach Jesus to [them]," we are doing them no service at all.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The love of Christ for the elect is so great that God the Father looks upon it proper and suitable to account Christ and the elect as one, and accordingly to account what Christ does and suffers as if they did it and suffered it." --Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon entitled, "The Wisdom of God"]