Is God one, or is He three? Yes. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 25 Q. Since there is but one God, why do you speak of three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? A. Because that is how God has revealed himself in his Word: these three distinct persons are one, true, eternal God. Summary In 1 Peter we see the apostle do something that he was never planning to do: write to gentiles about the faith. Yet that is exactly what he's doing as he addresses this letter to the six unique regions of the Christian world mentioned in Acts 2. People who may have even heard him preach his first sermon on the day of Pentecost are now being spoken to again by God's grace. Notice how God's grace comes: It comes to those who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of the Father. This grace comes through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, which enables the recipient to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood. As Peter writes these words, you need to hear and see that this statement is one of the clearest statements of the Trinity, describing the personhood and work of God. But could you explain the Trinity? It really is important for you as a Christian to be able to, because the belief in a God being one in essence, yet three in person - this is what is meant by the word Triune (three/one) - is a foundational pillar of the Christian faith. Review the triangle illustration shown above to see what is, and is not meant when we say that God is a Trinity. What I love about this concept is that the words on the lines come right from the historical Athanasian Creed, which is a creed that we profess to believe in the Reformed World even though many haven’t read it well. But this creed unlike any other describes the role and person of the Godhead for what each is and what each is not. For nothing is confused in the Godhead. Each person is named Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is equal in power and authority, and also in submission to one another. One of the best ways that I have found to display this is to copy down the above drawing on your own sheet of paper. But instead of standing the triangle up leave it on the table. Then you can see the submission that is at work. So that God’s grace and peace would be evident in being submission to God. Dig Deeper Our heavenly Father is always revealing Himself fully through his Word. This is why he uses the titles that he does for each person in the Godhead which we say faithfully in the Apostles Creed. We're going to be working our way through this creed line by line, learning to understand the key elements of our only comfort in life over these next few months. Lord willing, you attend a church that uses this creed regularly in worship. But if you do not I would invite you today to read through the Apostles Creed very slowly. Just spend five minutes per person and reflect on the truth and work that each of us are to believe in faith without reservation and without doubt. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Heavenly Father we praise you for revealing yourself, your Son and your Spirit by name to us. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: We pray Father, Son and Spirit that we would be willing to let you lead our days, our worship and our thoughts and our life. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 23

The Holy Spirit works lots of different ways in you to accomplish your sanctification. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 24 Q. How are the three articles of the Apostle's Creed divided? A. Into three parts: God the Father and our creation; God the Son and our deliverance; God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. Summary As Jesus speaks to His disciples, the tension is mounting. The crucifixion is only hours away now, and at the end of the previous chapter, Jesus told Peter he'd deny Jesus three times. He's just explained to the disciples that He'd be going away to prepare a place for them, and dropped the truth bombs that He was the way, the truth and the life, and that He was in the Father, and the Father was in Him, and in the passage we read Jesus expands that relationship to include you! He said "I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (v20)" Now Jesus introduces the third member of the Trinity: The Comforter... I mean Counselor... or is it the Advocate? Almost every English Bible translation uses a different word here to describe the title given to the Holy Spirit'. This may seem confusing. Which one is the most accurate? The Greek word is paraklētos, which literally means to call out from alongside. With that literal meaning, you can see why all of the English translations are correct! There's not just one word that can fully explain what the Holy Spirit does, so we must use several. It some respects, it doesn't matter what name we apply to Him, because Jesus says the Holy Spirit will be coming in His name, and will teach and remind you everything that Jesus taught. Dig Deeper The Holy Spirit has often been referred to as the shy member of the Trinity. This certainly doesn't imply timidity, instead it describes the fact that the Spirit often sets Himself in the background, shining the glory upon the Father and the Son. Yet the Spirit is every bit as much fully God as what the Father and the Son are. We meet Him in the opening verses of the Bible hovering over the waters of the deep as God the Father begins to speak the world into existence (Gen. 1:2). Although the Spirit does such a broad range of things for us - counseling, comforting, advocating on our behalf - notice that the Catechism encompasses all of these roles under one concept: the Holy Spirit is working out your sanctification. In other words, the Spirit is counseling, comforting and advocating from within you to make you look more and more like Christ in all things. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will show your love for Christ by keeping His commands. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 22

It's not until you realize what Christ gave up that you truly realize how amazing His grace is. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 24 Q. How are the three articles of the Apostle's Creed divided? A. Into three parts: God the Father and our creation; God the Son and our deliverance; God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. Summary In demonstrating what it means to have the same mindset of Christ, this passage is one of the Bible's clearest christologies; meaning it's a fantastic resource to understand who and what Jesus, the second member of the Trinity, is: He's by nature God, but He then also assumed the nature of man. Having successfully completed His mission, God exalted Christ above all things. Paul writes that atheism is a temporary condition in v11 - every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - even the atheists will need confess this truth! But in order to gain the everlasting benefits that come from confessing Jesus as Lord, you need to confess it here and now. Imagine one of your best life long friends, who gained success in every area of life, only to give up all they had to take all of the guilt and blame and consequences for all of the wrongs you had committed in your life. That's the picture that this passage paints of who Jesus is and what He did. Dig Deeper For many people, the fact that people sing in public at our worship services seems weird. After all, there are few places in our society where people sing together out loud! But it's quite likely that this passage was one of the church's first hymns. Even though singing seems weird in our society, God's people have always sung God's Word back to Him. Singing helps cement the words into your memory. This is why as we worship, after God's Word is read, the congregation often responds by singing God's Word like an echo. You may or may not be a good singer. It really doesn't matter. As you join your congregation in corporate worship, pay attention to the words that you're singing and notice how it reflects the scripture that's been read. Then belt it out, because as you do you'll become more and more certain of who your Triune God is and what He's done for you. What are some of your favorite songs to sing at church? Use the comment box below to share! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The one who is above all things and to whom all glory is due (v9 & 11) ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will vave the same love and purpose that Jesus did because you are united to Him. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 23

God's Fatherhood isn't a popular concept, but don't let the world define who God is! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 24 Q. How are the three articles of the Apostle's Creed divided? A. Into three parts: God the Father and our creation; God the Son and our deliverance; God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. Summary Our passage from Isaiah today comes near the end of his book, as the prophet reminds God's people that He will always be faithful to His covenant people. The chapter has a very eschatological feel to it - this big word simply means it speaks of the future and God's final triumph. It's the shift that occurs in v8 that draws our attention today. There Isaiah goes from referring to God as a detached, all powerful moral governor who will judge all the world to realizing that this omnipotent divine being has an eminently personal relationship with us: He's our Father. This is how we're introduced to the Triune (three in one) God in the opening words of the Bible as well, as the entire cosmos springs into being at the very sound of His voice. Yet at the very end of that creative process, God stoops down to make something in a very different manner: The Father shapes his son Adam out of the clay and then gently breathes life into him. Isaiah puts this so beautifully in v8: Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Dig Deeper Many Christians in our egalitarian society seek to diminish God's role as our Father. After all, the Bible also refers to God using motherly descriptions as well (Isaiah 66:13)! Since God is neither male nor female, why should we continually refer to Him in masculine, patriarchal terms like Father? The answer is quite simple. You are to think of God as your Father because that's how He most often reveals Himself in His Word, and no one in scripture speaks of Him this way more than His only begotten Son, Jesus. It's true that the concept of fatherhood conjures up difficult memories for many who had abusive, negligent, or absent earthly fathers. As we walk patiently beside such hurting people, it's good to be reminded of what the great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck taught: "'Father' is not a metaphor derived from earth and attributed to God." In other words, God sometimes uses earthly images to help us understand Him, like when the Bible speaks of His powerful right arm. But the idea of God's fatherhood travels the opposite direction: it's a heavenly concept that defines how fathers on earth must fulfill their calling. No matter what your experience with fatherhood in this world has been, know that the originator of the concept guides, guards and protects you as the perfect Father. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Understanding what it means that God is our Father gives new insight into the simple way Jesus taught us to acknowledge God: As Our Father who is in heaven; His name is Holy. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that you are the work of His hand. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 20

The world keeps trying to drive a wedge between Jesus and the Church. Don't fall for it! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 23 Q. What are these articles of the Christian faith? A. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Summary The letters that Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus are called the pastoral epistles, since Paul sent them to these two young pastors with instructions on how to build up and care for their local churches. This first letter to Timothy begins with instructions on how worship and how to identify men to lead the churches as elders and deacons. But it's in the verses we read today, which is almost at the exact center of the letter, that Paul lays the foundation for the Church: the Church is built upon a creed. A creed is a summary statement of the primary tenants of a particular belief system. There's a ton of theology packed into these two sentences: The Church is the household of God, and since the Church's main task is to proclaim God's Word, it is the "pillar and foundation of the truth." Jesus Christ is the source of all true godliness for those who are in Him; God became incarnate, and the God-Man was given the stamp of approval by the Holy Spirit; The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for the entire world; Jesus has ascended to glory! This means that a Man is presently sitting at the right hand of God working out all things for His Church. Dig Deeper Most of us in this Bible reading plan are part of Reformed churches, and one of the distinctives of Reformed churches is a strong adherence to creeds and confessions. Confessions are slightly longer documents that summarize what we believe the Bible says about important topics. The Heidelberg Catechism, which we're also reading through this year, is an example of a confession. The Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt are the two other confessions Reformed churches subscribe to. Many Presbyterians subscribe to the Westminster Standards, while some Lutherans hold to the Formula of Concord. Confessions, for the most part, are products of the Protestant Reformation - tools used to articulate what the Bible actually teaches about core doctrines. Creeds are much older than confessions. Adherence to creeds like the Apostle's Creed often is the determining factor as to whether a particular church can properly call itself Christian or not. There have always been some, who look at all of the strife and division in the Church and trace it to these 'man made' creeds, and self righteously declare they have no creed but Christ, as if somehow their own personal interpretations of the Bible will be more pure than declarations that have passed centuries of examination. It's true that the Apostle's Creed was written by men. We don't considered it to be inspired or give it the same authority we give to scripture. But not only is every word and phrase of our creeds and confessions meticulously based in scripture, you can see from our passage today, which is just one of dozens of similar passages in the Bible, that's God's people have always expressed their core beliefs in the form of creeds (note the different formatting of v16 - Paul was likely quoting an early creedal hymn of the church). Praise God for those who came before us and wrote the creeds to keep the Church centered on God's inerrant, infallible Word of Truth. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The Living God, who lives in His Church, the pillar and foundation of the truth. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will know and believe the core doctrines of Christianity well. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 19

The Bible isn't just a book of stories and archaic rules... it's written so that you may have life. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 22 Q What then must a Christian believe? A. Everything God promises us in the gospel. That gospel is summarized for us in the articles of our Christian faith— a creed beyond doubt, and confessed throughout the world. Summary This episode that takes place a full week after Jesus' resurrection is exactly why we often prefix Thomas' name with the word Doubting. Thomas had missed out on Jesus' earlier appearance to the other disciples, and then he dismissed their excited claims by stating that he not only needed to see Jesus alive, but he also needed to touch His wounds before he would believe. Jesus accommodated his request. But this grace quickly transitioned into a command to Thomas, and others like him: "Stop doubting, and believe (v27)." Instantly, Thomas' need for tangible proof disappears. He no longer needs to touch the nail marks on Jesus' hands; rather he simply affirms His Savior's command with a beautifully simple statement of faith: "My Lord and my God (v28)." Jesus accepts Thomas' profession, but as He does so, He broadens the audience He's speaking to. No longer is He just conversing with Thomas, or even with the other disciples in the room; in v29 He's talking directly to you and me: those who've not physically seen Jesus, but yet believe. Throughout John’s gospel Jesus has been talking to us... in fact, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He's been talking to you. He is talking about the faith that you've been given, and here He commands you to stop doubting and believe. Dig Deeper Today we've been presented with a basic, foundational question that you have to know the answer to: What must a Christian believe? The answer is simple and yet profound. We are called to believe everything God promises of in the gospel, and believe it beyond doubt with a confession that reaches out into the world. Is your faith doing that? Martin Luther said that doubt is a place that we will all visit, but we must never build our home there. When you find yourself doubting your faith, reread the gospel of John - it will only take half an hour to read the whole thing. As you do so, underline each time there is a promise for you the reader. After all, John tells us exactly why he wrote these words down in v31: "So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." Strengthen your faith in the gospel so that you would live beyond doubt. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Heavenly Father I confess that there are times that I doubt your work, your mercy, your grace, and your forgiveness. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Bring the fire of faith to burn brightly again that any lingering doubts would be consumed in your glory. Teach me your ways today. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 18

Salvation isn't a 'maybe' or 'I hope so,' it's a certainty for those who trust Christ. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 20 Q. What is true faith? A. True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, that, out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation. Summary In this text Paul is rejoicing over the faith given to the brothers and sisters in Christ living in Rome. These worshippers of Christ have yet to meet Paul, but already their faith is well known to him and to the seven churches of Asia Minor and those in Jerusalem. It is this faith that Paul is looking for, fortified by God’s grace. He hopes that all the assurances of the gospel would be known to them as they are to Paul. It is the assurance of faith that we stand forgiven and accepted in the blood of Christ Jesus before the Father that makes Christianity unique in the world of religions. It is the assurance of faith that removes all shame of the gospel and brings forth a life that trusts completely in the power of the living Triune God. This assurance has been made known first to the Jew and then to Gentile so that the boundaries of hostility would be taken down, and so that sinfulness would end and that the righteousness of Christ alone would grow in you. The end result is that you will live in righteousness; in other words, that you would live by faith, revealed from heaven to your heart so that you would be prepared for eternal days, even as you live out your days on earth. Dig Deeper One of the primary things that set apart the churches of the Reformation was the deep assurance that believers can know with certainty where they will spend eternity. The Roman Catholic Church had been walking away from this assurance as it made salvation increasingly dependent upon the efforts of people rather than the sovereignty of God. But Luther, Calvin and the other Reformers stood up and said no. Much of their conviction was based on these words we read today from Romans 1. God’s Word is revealed in all of its fullness and righteousness, proclaiming that not only others but I too have had my sins forgiven. Notice the past tense declaration! It's not a maybe or possibility - it's a declaration of eternal forgiveness made possible by the sacrificial work of Christ on your behalf. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Heavenly Father we rejoice in your work and Word that is made plain to us by your Spirit. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Work in my life that I would live in assurance of your forgiveness eternally. Strengthen me to be obedient to your will for my life as I long for your kingdom to come. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 17

Can you spot the truth in a sea of lies? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 21 Q. What is true faith? A. True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, that, out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation. Summary In our text today we see Jehoash, an evil king of Israel, speaking in fear to Elisha, God’s prophet of Truth. Jehoash is afraid that when prophet dies, God’s truth will die with him. But Elisha speaks the truth using visual examples, illustrating to the king that God’s truth lives on no matter who dies . Elisha teaches this truth in three ways: First, Elisha puts his hands over the king's hands, symbolizing that God’s sovereignty is over all people. Second, the arrow shot from the window declares that God’s truth goes forward into the future. And third, the strange and surprising account of the dead man who instantly comes to life after being unceremoniously dumped in a grave, in which he touches Elisha's bones. In the same way, God’s truth will always live on. But being told about God's truth is one thing; accepting it is another. Jehoash was lukewarm to the idea of God’s truth in this text (he half-heartedly tapped the arrows instead of pounding them - v18-19). Are you lukewarm to God’s truth? Do you prize God’s truth as you once did? The fact is that we often don’t prize truth until all we hear is lies masquerading as the truth. Dig Deeper True faith is knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true. We call this concept Sola Scriptura in Latin. Scripture alone provides all that we need to be eternally saved in the grip of God’s grace, which was provided by our Savior's sacrifice and made alive in us by the Holy Spirit. It is this conviction - that scripture is the ultimate source of truth - that the world, the devil and our own flesh attack everyday. This is often a battle you are not prepared for. It is often a battle you fret over. Today let a prophet who died thousands of years ago remind you that God's truth and victory will never cease. God's truth and victory are made evident on every page of scripture, and have been guaranteed in the death & resurrection of His Son. Continue to stand your ground on this absolute truth, even as you wait for the final movement of God’s sovereignty to come. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Almighty Father you give the gift of faith into the hearts of your children. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Teach my heart to accept your gift of faith by opening its truth in my daily life to follow your will. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 16

It's easy to accept just the blessings you like, but that's not the way it works. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 20 Q. Are all saved through Christ just as all were lost through Adam? A. No. Only those are saved who by true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his blessings. Summary In this text from Luke we hear Jesus requesting to go to the other side of the lake. The text says the other side, because that was the side of the Gentiles. That was the side that the Jews didn’t go. Standing on the shores of life we can either appreciate the waves that God brings as beautiful or breaking. Yet it is never the water that changes. This was certainly the case with the disciples in the gospel of Luke. They had been on the sea of Galilee all of their life. They knew this water. It had been their source of livelihood for generations. Yet, when Jesus requested to go to the other side, They knew they were going to the edge of their comfort zone... Because decent Jews didn’t go to the other side. The other side was the gentile side. It was unclean. It was uncouth. To go there was to invite judgment on yourself. At least that is what they had been told. And sure enough as they crossed out of familiar waters and got close to the other side, it seemed that God’s judgment was coming on them. As the waves began to rise and enter their boat these seasoned sailors thought they were going down. Stumbling to reach Jesus in the stern of the boat they woke him and said, “Master, Master, we are going to drown!" Jesus stood up, rebuked the wind and the raging waves and the storm subsided. Where is your faith? He asked his disciples. Jesus asks you this same question: Where is your faith? Is it in your blood from Adam that brought the curse of sin, or is it in the Son of God who brings you life? If your faith is in Christ then blessing will abound in your life; but some blessings will seem better than others. Dig Deeper In our teaching lesson from the Catechism we see the word all repeated three times. “Are all saved”, “are all lost” and “grafted into Christ we accept all his blessings.” We like to speak using all because we want to be inclusive. We want all to go to heaven, so we say... except maybe the most wicked tyrant or ungodly neighbor. So if we want to carve out some, it's not so difficult to see why God would want to select as well; to chose or carve out his chosen from the the unrepentant. It quickly becomes clear that it's not feasible to have all in heaven. What is the deciding factor then? It certainly can’t just be a particular people or language. It has to be something outside of who you are. As the Catechism says, salvation comes from being grafted into Christ, who reveals that you are chosen and who feeds you with his Word and Spirit so that you would accept and live in His blessings. Even when those blessings bring about unexpected struggle. What blessing from God do you struggle to accept the most? Silence? Reflection? Wealth? Often the blessing that you struggle the most to accept is the very blessing that God giving you the most often. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Triune God, who commands the winds and the water, and they obey Him. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Open my heart and hands by your Holy Spirit to accept your gifts, as the seashore accepts the waves. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 15

Being excited about God is good... but make sure your zeal is based on knowledge! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 19 Q. How do you come to know this? A. The holy gospel tells me. God himself began to reveal the gospel already in Paradise; later, he proclaimed it by the holy patriarchs and prophets, and portrayed it by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; finally, he fulfilled it through his own dear Son. Summary With these words Paul expresses his desire that his fellow Jews would be saved. What Paul sees in many of his brethren is a zeal for keeping to the laws of the Old Testament, but a lack of understanding that adherence to the law does not equate righteousness. No matter how you might try, even your best efforts to establish your own righteousness cannot stand up to God’s perfect standard. It's still important for us to strive to live out the teachings of Jesus, as this is the appropriate response of gratitude to the grace of Jesus. Just as Paul’s concern for the Jews was not their zeal for upholding the law, the real concern is a mindset of upholding adherence to the law as a replacement for the righteousness of Christ. Attempts to be “good enough”, instead of depending upon the grace of Jesus, are nothing more than a flawed attempt to circumvent God’s plan of redemption. As Paul writes, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. Christ being the “end of the law” carries with it multiple, non-mutually exclusive meanings. First, this points to Jesus as the purpose or end goal the law was working towards. Secondly, Jesus marks for believers an end to our attempts to pursue righteousness via the law. Dig Deeper Every good story has a climax. If Belle had never gone looking for her father none of us would have heard about Beauty and the Beast. Without that action forward, the story would have remained at a standstill and never reached its exciting climax. While the Bible consists of 66 books written by various authors, it is also the ongoing story of God’s interaction with his creation. God’s handiwork can be seen throughout all of human history, culminating with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is undoubtedly the climax of human history. There are many reasons to open up your Bible, and chief among them is that you might come to know your faithful savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is what pushes history forward. Without Jesus, the story of humanity would be a standstill as we would still be waiting for our redeemer. Praise God that he has saved you from your misery, that a redeemer has come, just as God had planned from the beginning. Trust not in yourself for righteousness, but in Jesus. As a dear saint would often remind me, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and HE will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Father, you set the standard for righteousness, and you sent your Son that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God will give you a zeal for Him based on knowledge of His Word. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 14