Find true peace by fully trusting in the LORD. Psalm 16 (NIV) A miktam of David. 1  Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. 2  I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” 3  I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” 4  Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. 5  LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7  I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8  I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10  because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11  You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel God’s wrath remains on those who do not believe this gospel.  But those who  do accept it  and embrace Jesus the Savior  with a true and living faith  are delivered through him  from God’s wrath and from destruction,  and receive the gift of eternal life. Summary & Dig Deeper It's so easy to say we trust in the LORD. We even stamp the saying on our money. Psalm 16 beautifully unpacks what it really means to trust in the LORD, so that it becomes the guiding principle for your life, rather than just an empty saying. Theologian Mark Futato suggests these five headings to help you understand what it means to truly trust in the LORD, taken from the five stanzas of this week's psalm. To Trust Is to Rely on the LORD (v1-2) Most people want what David begins with in Psalm 16 - they want God to provide them safety and refuge in the midst of trouble. But David's reliance on the LORD is far deeper. David realizes that apart from God he has no good thing . In other words, David knows that even in the good times, he is fully reliant upon the LORD. To Trust Is to Be Devoted to the LORD (v3-4) David looks to those around him who have demonstrated devotion throughout their lives - the holy people , or saints. It's these people who are society's true nobles. The less devoted - those who want safety and refuge from God when things are bad but who run after other gods the rest of the time - will suffer more and more. To Trust Is to Delight in the LORD (v5-6) John Calvin writes of these verses , "This passage reminds us that true godliness is learned only by those who find their ultimate happiness in God alone. When David calls God his portion, inheritance, and cup, he declares his complete contentment in God, needing nothing else and rejecting any sinful desires. Let us likewise learn to embrace God fully when He offers Himself to us, seeking in Him alone everything we need for true and complete joy" (paraphrased for modern english). To Trust Is to Learn from the LORD (v7-8) David understands the LORD to be his counselor (other translations use the word guide or advisor ). That's not too surprising, in and of itself. What's really surprising is what David writes next, that his heart instructs him. Isn't Bible lesson number one is DO NOT TRUST YOUR HEART, which is deceitful beyond all measure (Jer. 17:9)? But David says you can trust the reflections of your heart when it's been continually grounded in the LORD's instruction. To Trust Is Rejoicing in the LORD (v9-11) David's heart is glad and his tongue rejoices because he knows that God's grace is stronger than he is. David can rest secure because of his assurance that he will not be abandoned to the realm of the dead. This is why you need to learn the biblical doctrines of grace summarized in the Canons of Dordt, so that you too can fully trust in the LORD as David did. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who makes known the paths of life and fills me with joy in His presence; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that like David, you will fully trust in the LORD in the days to come; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 2

The Bible isn't a buffet; you need to believe all of it! The Bible isn't a buffet where you can pick and choose only what you like (Photo credit: Unsplash) John 12:42-50 (NIV) CONTEXT: These words come near the end of Jesus' ministry. Verse 37: Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, the people would not believe in Him... 42  Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43  for they loved human praise more than praise from God. 44  Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45  The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47  “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48  There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49  For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50  I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel God’s wrath remains on those who do not believe this gospel.  But those who  do accept it  and embrace Jesus the Savior  with a true and living faith  are delivered through him  from God’s wrath and from destruction,  and receive the gift of eternal life. Summary We love buffet theology - that is, the ability to pick and choose doctrines we'll believe while passing over the teachings we don't care for the same way we only choose what we like and skip what we don't when eating at Pizza Ranch. But Jesus warns against this misguided approach as He cries out one last time to the people He came to save but who now reject Him. These people had loved the signs and wonders that Jesus performed in their midst in the earlier phases of His ministry. Just a few days before, Jesus had raised His friend Lazarus from the dead, His last and greatest public sign of all, but it doesn't seem to do much to sway public opinion in His favor. The crowds had already begun to thin out when Jesus slowed the miracle production down and instead began to teach repentance and the need to pick up a cross and follow Him. Jesus here proclaims that believing in Him means more than just agreeing that two millennia ago there lived a humble man who spoke peace and healed the sick. To believe in Jesus is to also believe in the One who sent Him. In fact, when we look at Jesus (through the words of scripture), we see the One who sent Him as well; we see the Father through the Son. Logically, the opposite of this must be true as well: you cannot believe in God the Father and reject His Son. In other words, you can't pick and choose from the Bible what you'll believe and what you'll reject the way you do at the buffet line. Belief in Christ is an all-in experience. Dig Deeper What a sad commentary at the beginning of our passage today - that many leaders believed in Him, but would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear... they loved human praise more than praise from God. Notice that they didn't just miss out on fulfilling the reason they were created for - to give praise to God - but they missed out on something even greater - to receive praise from God! It's so easy for us to sit back and shake our heads at these fickle Pharisees who wanted to but didn't quite dare to stand up for Jesus. But commentator Robert Mounce provides a needed attitude adjustment , writing "Lest the contemporary believer look with disdain on such hesitancy, it would be wise to search one’s own heart to discover how often lips remain sealed for fear of displeasing someone in the secular world." Jesus' words here are even more stark. Those who reject Him and do not accept His words will be condemned by the words He has spoken. Jesus will not condemn those who reject Him; He won't need to, since His rejected words will have already done so. But the command that comes from the Father through the Son - the command to repent (change your thinking) and believe - this command leads to eternal life ! Don't pick and choose the words you'll believe in the Bible. Obey God's command to believe them all and find eternal life! AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who will praise those who obey His command to believe and find eternal life; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the Spirit will strengthen you to believe all of God's Word and that you'll have the courage to stand up for that belief despite the world's rejection; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 1

Experience peace by maintaining tensegrity in your theology. Tensegrity is a contraction of the words 'tension' and 'integrity'. It's the stability achieved when the forces of tension and compression are equalized. John 6:37-40 (NIV) 37  "All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40  For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel God’s wrath remains on those who do not believe this gospel.  But those who  do accept it  and embrace Jesus the Savior  with a true and living faith  are delivered through him  from God’s wrath and from destruction,  and receive the gift of eternal life. Summary Jesus gives us a fascinating peek behind the curtain, so to speak, in today's passage. The people who come to Jesus are the people whom the Father gives to Jesus. As theologian Robert Mounce puts it, "The coming by faith to the Son is the unmistakable indication that they have been chosen by God." In other words, the evidence of your election is the fact that you've come to Jesus. Jesus uses a strong negative statement to make a solid positive affirmation. When He says whoever comes to me I will never drive away , He also means that He will heartily welcome, keep and preserve all who do come to Him. We will certainly be coming back to this passage and others like it this year as we focus on how God's grace is stronger than we are in that we have the solid assurance that we will be held tightly in God's hand for all eternity. This is why, Jesus says, that He needed to come down from heaven (a phrase that shocked those listening to Him!) in order to do the will of His Father who sent Him . God's unchanging will is that Jesus shall lose none of all those He has given Him. God's will is always accomplished, so as one who has been given to Christ, you can be certain you will never be lost! This doctrine gives us unspeakable comfort as we gather in the cemetery to bury the dead, knowing that Jesus will raise us up at the last day. Dig Deeper It's important that as we dig into these doctrines of grace that you learn to maintain tensegrity in your theology. Tensegrity is a contraction of the words tension and integrity. It's the solid, stable condition achieved when multiple opposing forces have an equal balance of tension and compression. Tensegrity enables bridges to cover spans of thousands of feet while carrying thousands of tons. It seems that Jesus is presenting two mutually exclusive ideas here. On one hand, it seems somewhat fatalistic to understand that you're saved simply because God gave you to Christ, as if you're simply a pawn in some great cosmic transaction. On the other hand, Jesus lays out a number of imperatives that you must fulfill in order to achieve salvation. You must come to Jesus, look to the Son and believe in Him in order to gain eternal life. The challenge for you is to live in the tension between these truths. If you lean too hard into God's sovereignty and conclude that because God gave you to Jesus you'll never be driven away no matter how sinful you remain, you will experience instability. But if you let go of God's sovereignty and depend totally on your own ability to look to the Son , you'll miss out on the comforting assurance of knowing for certain that Christ will raise you up at the last day. But when you do the hard work of coming to understand how both of these concepts are equally true - the equalized tension between God's sovereignty and your responsibility - you'll live in the rock solid tensegrity that God desires for you. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gave you to Christ that you would look to Him for salvation; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the wisdom, discipline, and strength to do the hard work of understanding sometimes difficult theological concepts; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 16

In Christ, you already have eternal life. Those who reject Him wander in darkness. Bible.com John 3:31-36 (NIV) 31  The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32  He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33  Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34  For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35  The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel God’s wrath remains on those who do not believe this gospel.  But those who  do accept it  and embrace Jesus the Savior  with a true and living faith  are delivered through him  from God’s wrath and from destruction,  and receive the gift of eternal life. Summary John here uses the flowing, somewhat poetic style he is famous for here to provide a very solid Christology - a description of who / what Jesus is. Jesus comes from above - from heaven, He is above all, and He testifies to what He has seen and heard . These themes are almost identical to the themes John poetically unpacks in his prologue (1:1-18). Yesterday we noted that John is also famous for his use of contrast in his writings, such as light/dark, love/hate, truth/lie, love/death, good/evil. He uses that same literary tool here in today's passage, contrasting the difference between those who have not accepted Jesus' testimony and who reject the Son with those who believe in Him. The contrast in the fate of those who do accept the testimony of Christ and those reject the Son couldn't be more stark. The rejectors will not see life . That's a very interesting way John puts it! He's not saying that they will not live, but rather that they won't see life (literally: life will not be lit up). Instead they will spend their entire existence, both now and into eternity, wandering and groping around in the darkness. But those who do accept Christ's testimony, and who certify that God is true are people who have eternal life. Notice that John doesn't write will have . Eternal life is not a future concept or prize that you may get way off in the very distant future, it is something that you have right here and now if you put your trust in Jesus. Dig Deeper John drops a verbal bomb in the final sentence of today's passage, writing that God's wrath remains on those who reject the Son. That means that this wrath has always been upon people. In other words, for those who do not believe , nothing changes! They were born in the dark, they live a life of wandering through the dark grasping for some sort of meaning, and God's just and righteous wrath for our sin has been, is now and always will be upon them. This also means that if you do believe in the Son , you must not live as if God is always angry with you! Many Christians continue to be terrified of God. They understand very well their own sinfulness, and because they also know well that God is holy, He must punish sin. So even though they're in Christ, they never have a free and open relationship with their Father because they fear His wrath. Know that because you embrace Jesus the Savior with a true and living faith, you  are delivered through Him from God’s wrath and from destruction. This means that God is no longer angry with you. Quite the opposite, in fact! He longs to be your loving Father and to have the close relationship with you that He created you for. Know that in Christ, you already have eternal life . Start living with an eternal perspective right here and now. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is truthful , and who has removed His wrath from those who put their trust in His Son; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will begin to live the eternal life you have right here and now; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 15

John draws clear contrasts for a world mired in nuance. Bible.com John 1:9-13 (NIV) 9  The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel God’s wrath remains on those who do not believe this gospel.  But those who  do accept it  and embrace Jesus the Savior  with a true and living faith  are delivered through him  from God’s wrath and from destruction,  and receive the gift of eternal life. Summary The true light. What an interesting adjective John uses here! Certainly there are lots of false lights in the world; most only seem like light because they're lesser shades of darkness, while others only dimly reflect the one true light. But this one true light burns bright enough to give light to everyone . Yet it's obvious that two millennia after this light arrived in the world , most people still bumble around in absolute darkness. As John puts it, the world did not recognize or receive this one true light . This light shines all around them and makes it plain where they ought to go and how they ought to get there, but they have their eyes shut so tightly that it results in self imposed blindness. But you've seen this light! Or better yet, as John puts it, you've received the Light by believing in His name. You've come to recognize that the very One who made the world now stands before you to guide you out of the brokeness our sin has brought to the world and into the perfect righteousness that this One true Light both requires and supplies. Jesus does more than just illuminate the path you need to follow. Because you've received / believed in Him, He changes your eternal identity - He gives you the right to become a child of God! Dig Deeper We're going to spend this entire week in John's gospel because John, more than any other Biblical writer, illustrates the stark contrast between rejecting the gospel and embracing Jesus the Savior with a true and living faith. John contrasts concepts like darkness / light, truth / falsehood, and God / world, as we read in today's passage, as well as numerous others in his gospel, epistles and Revelation. We live in a world in love with nuance that rejects stark contrasts. It wants to stretch the continuum between good and evil by adding steps in between; most things are either sort of good or sort of evil. The world loves to point to the flaws in that which has been considered good and to make excuses for things considered evil in the past. While nuance is good and necessary at times, John will help us recognize this week that ultimately God's judgment is binary. You're either with Him or against Him. You either walk in the Light or wander in darkness. You are either the child of God or your father is the devil (John 8:44). As the Canons put it, you either embrace Jesus the Savior with a true and living faith and are delivered through him from God’s wrath and from destruction , or God's wrath remains on you. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who sent the one true light into the world , so that you would have the right to become His child; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God would keep your eyes open so that you walk in His light; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 14

Our God is mightier than the chaos surrounding you. Nathan Dumlao, via Unsplash Psalm 93 (NIV) 1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. 2 Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. 3 The seas have lifted up, Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea— the Lord on high is mighty. 5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel In order that people may be brought to faith,  God mercifully sends messengers of this very joyful message  to the people  and at the time He wills.  By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. Summary Psalm 93 comes in the midst of a section of psalms that celebrate the kingship of the LORD. Royal terms like reign, majesty, armed and strength pepper the first stanza. But the King being described in this psalm is far different than earthly kings, whose time comes and goes regardless of how mighty they are. This King's throne was established long ago; in fact, He's from all eternity! The psalmist points in an unexpected direction to illustrate the LORD's kingly power. The ancient Hebrews were landlubbers; they wanted nothing to do with the sea, which represented chaos and uncertainty to them. The psalmist here portrays the chaotic sea throwing all that it has at the LORD - pounding waves which consume everything in their path. But the LORD, the very one whose words bounded the chaos as He separated the land from the sea on day two of creation, is mightier than the thunder and the breakers of the sea . Despite all that this fallen, chaotic world can muster against our King, His statutes stand firm. Dig Deeper Despite the massive differences that exist between our modern North American context and the ancient near east that the psalmist called home, one of the commonalities we share is the unpredictable chaos that our sin unleashed upon God's good creation. But The psalmist here seeks to build your confidence in your King in this short song. This psalm is a reminder that, as the old hymn puts, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. Despite the fact that you're continually pounded by proverbial waves, you can be confident because this world is established, firm and secure in the King who created it and who continues to sovereignly reign over it. As we come to understand how it is God bestowed His unconditional election upon us, keep Psalm 93 tucked into your memory. It's with the same might that the LORD holds the chaotic seas to their boundary that He holds you in the palm of His hand, where nothing can separate you from His love (Rom. 8:38) AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is mightier than the powerful chaotic forces of this world; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the faith to trust in the LORD's might, even as the waves of chaos crash around you A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 13

If the world calls you foolish, you're likely on the right track! 1 Corinthians 1:21-25 (NIV) 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel In order that people may be brought to faith,  God mercifully sends messengers of this very joyful message  to the people  and at the time He wills.  By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. Summary Sometimes it's easy to think of ancient people like Paul as being simplistic and ignorant since they didn't have the technology and sophistication that we associate with our modern ages, but in many ways, the wisdom and philosophy of the world had already reached its zenith long before Paul wrote these words. But despite all of the world class thinkers who'd already had come and gone, their thinking had a huge deficit: they did not know God. All though thick books, erudite debates and philosophical contemplations play an important and significant role in shaping our world, and even fulfilling our mandate to exercise dominion over God's creation, God choose a much humbler method to save those who believe : He choose preaching. I n many ways, preaching isn't all that different from what the great orators who traveled throughout the Roman empire did, speaking to large assemblies in amphitheaters in every city. It's the message being proclaimed that's so different. The proclamation of a crucified Savior who has risen to rule all things seems like pure foolishness to the 'wise' of this world. But, as Paul reminds us, the 'foolishness' of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the 'weakness' of God is stronger than human strength! Dig Deeper Listening well to a preacher involves much more than just sitting there; you need to listen, watch, read along, think deeply and then apply the preached Word to your life. This is hard work! But it's also a key reason that God utilizes preaching as the primary way He conveys grace to people. There are lots of ways to short circuit this process, and lots of churches try to do so often to make it an easier and more entertaining experience, and many of their innovations really seem to make sense. After all, anything that makes it easier for people to understand the gospel seems like it ought to be a good thing, right? But yet our God, who spoke the universe into existence, opened the ocean for His people to walk through, and sent fire from heaven to demonstrate His power when pitted against idols didn't ordain any sort of flashy show to communicate His grace. It is through preaching that God saves those who believe , and as we'll see more and more this year that it's through this same process that God preserves people in this salvation. That's why it's so critical that you train yourself and your children to do the hard work of listening to God's preached Word each Lord's Day. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, whose Son is the power of God and the wisdom of God; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the desire and ability to listen well to God's preached Word as He uses it to preserve you in His grace; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 12

Preaching ought to be your top priority Biblia.com Romans 10:13-17 (NIV) 13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  14  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  16  But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”  17  Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Grace 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel In order that people may be brought to faith,  God mercifully sends messengers of this very joyful message  to the people  and at the time He wills.  By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. Summary Paul announces the proper - and only - path to salvation by first quoting the prophet Joel: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. You will not be saved by accomplishing a certain amount of good deeds or even just by being really sorry for your sins; the only way to come to your Father, as Jesus told His disciples in John 14, is by calling on His name. But Paul points out the obvious: before a person can call on the name of the Lord, they need to know who the Lord is! Theoretically, a person can come to find out the Lord's name and their need to call on Him by sitting down on their own and reading through scripture; certainly there have been people who've done just that throughout history and found salvation on their own. But ordinarily, this knowledge necessary for salvation comes via preaching, which is both the public and private proclamation of God's Word. So as the NET Bible puts it, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached Word of Christ. Dig Deeper As you begin your year of coming to understand God's sovereignty as it relates to your salvation - that is, His omnipotent control, authority and presence in choosing you to belong to Him and then shaping all of history to work this election out in your life - you need to be warned of a potential trap so you don't fall into it. One of the criticisms that are put up against these doctrines of grace is that if God controls every aspect of salvation and everything necessary for it will happen no matter what, that Christians will have no incentive to preach to all people. After all, if God has foreordained a person's salvation, they'll be saved even if they never hear preaching, right? Consequently, Calvinists like us are often branded the 'frozen chosen,' content to just sit back and wait for God to miraculously convert those He will without any of our effort whatsoever. And unfortunately, many Calvinists have earned this unfortunate moniker. But the reality is that the most effective evangelists over the past several centuries have been ardent Calvinists, because we know the power of Biblical preaching, and how it is that God uses preachers as His preeminent means of conveying saving grace to His people. This is why you need to make preaching the central activity in your life - both regularly hearing it proclaimed to you in a formal setting, and then privately proclaiming what you've learned to those closest to you. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who saves His people through the powerful preaching of His Word; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that preaching will be your top priority - both hearing it and sharing it; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 11

How much good news do you want to hear? Be excited to learn more and more details about the victory Christ has won for you! Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) 7  How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel In order that people may be brought to faith,  God mercifully sends messengers of this very joyful message  to the people  and at the time He wills.  By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. Summary We live in a day and age of instant communication in which events that occur anywhere on the globe are instantly beamed to a screen in your hand. You've likely experienced times where you were cut off either because you didn't have your phone or had no signal, and immediately your anxiety increased because you felt cut off from the rest of the world. Now put yourself in the sandals of a resident of the ancient near east waiting for important news to arrive. As you scour the hillsides, suddenly the image of the coming herald comes into view, and it doesn't take long before his body language betrays whether he brings bad or good news. But even when the spring in his step conveys the good news of a victory won, the anticipation would continue to build as the herald approached because you'd certainly want to know the details and the full scope of the success. As soon as the herald arrived, he'd be peppered with questions from excited people wanting to know more. That's exactly the kind of excitement Isaiah wants you to have each and every time you get to hear the gospel (good news) preached or read your Bible each weekday. Certainly you already know the general gist of what the Bible says, but you need to have an ever increasing appetite to want to know more and more about the victory Christ has won for you. Dig Deeper Isaiah builds anticipation in this short verse the same way anticipation would build in those waiting for the approaching herald to finally arrive. Notice the repetition Isaiah uses: The herald: brings good news proclaims peace brings good tidings proclaims salvation All of these lead up to the climactic declaration: "Your God reigns!" What a beautiful description of the gospel! Certainly the gospel includes lots of really important details about Jesus' birth, life, atoning death, resurrection, and victorious ascension into heaven, but Isaiah consolidates all of that good news, peace, good tidings and salvation into one simple yet powerful statement: God is always in control and will be faithful to His covenant. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who reigns! A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will have a growing appetite to be excited to hear of the gospel's peace & salvation; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 10

God wants all people to be saved! BibleHub.com 1 Timothy 2:1-7 (NIV) I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4  who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5  For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6  who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7  And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle —I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Article 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel In order that people may be brought to faith,  God mercifully sends messengers of this very joyful message  to the people  and at the time He wills.  By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. Summary We noted last year when we read this passage that God wants us to pray for our civil and government leaders so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Today we're going to key on why it is that God wants this lifestyle for us, and it's way more than Him just wanting you to live the good life. He wants communities in which the Gospel can be proclaimed. Notice how Paul refers to God in this passage - He is God our Savior. We often properly refer to Jesus as our Savior , since we know that He is the one mediator who stands between God and us . But as we've seen already this year, if you're going to understand your salvation properly, you must understand that God the Father planned and provided for your salvation. We'll continue to see as we go on this year that He continues to preserve you in the salvation that He planned and provided for. He truly is our Savior! Over the coming weeks and months we're going to wrestle with the Biblical teaching that God elected those who would be saved and at the same time chose to leave other in their sin. But we need to begin by understanding what Paul writes here: God wants all people to be saved. Dig Deeper Paul mentions two things God our Savior wants for all people: To be saved, and To come to a knowledge of the truth. Of course those two things are only really one, but the way Paul presents it here teaches an important lesson. Too many people mistakenly think that being 'saved' means praying a prayer or raising their hand in a darkened room when the preacher softly calls and 'no one else is looking.' Those sort of things may be significant chapters in many people's personal salvation story, but this passage illustrates that true and lasting salvation has a deeper element. Salvation is the result of coming to a knowledge of the truth. This knowledge isn't complicated; many young children have already mastered it. It simply involves a basic understanding of who God is, who you are, and how it is you're reconciled to the God you've rebelled from. But Christians ought never to be content with just a simple, basic understanding; your life ought to be marked by a steady growth in your knowledge of the truth. This means that ordinarily, salvation is conveyed didactically - that is, it is taught. It must be, as Paul refers to his own calling as one who heralded and proclaimed. This is one of the Church's biggest needs at this point in history: solid men who can preach and be faithful teachers of this wonderful gospel. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : God our Savior; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will grow this year in your knowledge of the truth and that God will raise up preachers for His Church; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 9