It does no good to think you're standing firm if your feet aren't on the solid rock. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 94 Q. What does the Lord require in the first commandment? A. That I, not wanting to endanger my very salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I sincerely acknowledge the only true God, trust him alone, look to him for every good thing humbly and patiently, love him, fear him, and honor him with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against his will in any way. Summary What a way to describe the people of Israel as they left their slavery and began their journey to the Promised Land: that as they did so, "they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ." But what follows is one of the scariest lines in the Bible. Even though these people were accompanied by Christ and in a sense were feeding off of Him, "with most of them God was not pleased." This first generation of Israelites had been marked as God's people as they passed through the Red Sea; Paul even uses the word 'baptism' to describe this. But their actions and attitudes told a much different story: indulging in revelry, sexual immorality, grumbling and more. It was for this idolatry that they paid a heavy price. Thousands of them - people who had been initiated into God's covenant - were killed at God's command by the Destroyer (v10). Dig Deeper We live in a world that prizes toleration, even by some in the Church. As long as people claim the name of Jesus, we're told, their other behaviors and beliefs shouldn't really matter. This tolerance-above-all attitude is completely inconsistent with the first commandment: You shall have no other gods before Me. Today's passage tells us to be warned by the example of these fallen Israelites. Let Paul's exhortation be seared into your mind: If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall! (v12) Some people like to pit Jesus against Paul, and sometimes even God the Father, as if Jesus is all about love and acceptance while the God of the Old Testament and Paul ruin everything with their rigid doctrines and rules. But it was Jesus Himself who said that not everyone who comes to Him saying 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus will tell some who claimed His name but would not bow their knee to God alone, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evil-doers!" (Matthew 7:21-23) If reading these warnings cause you to worry, that's actually a good sign. It's the Holy Spirit at work, pricking your conscience with God's Word so that you continue to cling to God through Christ in all things. Be reminded that "God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear (v13)." One of the 'ways out' that God provides so that you can endure temptation is to regularly remind and warn you about the serious consequences of breaking the first commandment. "Dear friends, flee from idolatry." Be sure that you do not put anything before God in your life. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is faithful and just; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God will convict you of your idolatries, so that you can repent of them and return to Him; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 2 Corinthians 1

Summary In Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul rehashes what we have covered so far in following the structure of

Jesus came to both save and destroy. Be sure to pray for both. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 122 Q. What does the second request mean? A. “Your kingdom come” means, Rule us by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you. Keep your church strong, and add to it. Destroy the devil’s work; destroy every force which revolts against you and every conspiracy against your Word. Do this until your kingdom is so complete and perfect that in it you are all in all. Summary In this letter John is writing to a church during a time of struggle to encourage them after a time of doubt brought on by false teachings. John reaffirms what the false teachers tried to deny: the full divinity and humanity of Christ. In the third chapter of this letter, John addresses how to respond to what had occurred. In verse 7 he gives a gentle reminder to not let anyone lead you astray. The devil and his forces are at work against the truth of the Gospel. However, Jesus came into the world to destroy the devil’s work. Listen to those that align with Christ, not those who are aligned with the devil. John gives a means of testing to see where one’s allegiance lies, writing that “anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child.” Do not be led astray, verify what you hear against the Word of God and consider the source and what their actions say about their intent. Dig Deeper John lays out the difference between those whom he labels the children of God and the children of the devil. The children of God practice righteousness while the children of the devil do not. And while the choice between the ways of righteousness and the ways of the devil seems like an easy one, keep in mind that the devil cheats. It is not always a decision between doing something righteous and doing something unrighteous. Sometimes the devil works to simply present an easy way out of doing what you know to be right. As the catechism teaches, praying “your kingdom come” is a way of asking God to destroy the devil’s work by destroying every force which revolts against him and every conspiracy against his holy Word. You must pick a side in this conflict: either you align with Christ, or you align with the devil. Where your allegiance lies will be seen in the choices you make. Take to heart John’s encouragement from today’s scripture passage by living lives of righteousness because you are the children of God. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent His Son to destroy the devil's work; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will not be led astray, and pray that God's kingdom will come; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 1

When God feels far away, remember that your head is still wet. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 74 Q. Should infants, too, be baptized? A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are his people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism. Summary We quickly recognize the opening line of David's psalm as the anguished words that Jesus spoke from the cross. We've all, like David, felt distant from and even ignored by God, but none of us have come close to experiencing the total separation from God that Jesus did as he repeated these words. What a lesson for us that in the most desperate hour of His life, Jesus relied on scriptures He had studied and memorized! Even though David expresses his frustration - anger even - that although he crying out to God but not hearing anything back, David knows that God is still there, just as He had been for those who came before David. They trusted in God, and God delivered them, so David knew that even though God seemed far away at the moment, that He was still there and would remain faithful. David's words in v7-8 foreshadow what Jesus experienced on the cross, despised and rejected, surrounded by mockers. Keep this in mind as you navigate a world that's increasingly hostile to the truth, that whatever insults you endure pale in comparison to what Christ endured for you. Even in the present darkness, David maintained his faith because he knew his life was in God's hands, just as it had always been from the moment he was conceived (Psalm 51:5). David didn't just become a man after God's own heart the moment that Samuel had him brought out of the fields to be anointed king. No, David, just like you, was a child of God, chosen by the King of kings, even before the universe was created (Ephesians 1:4). Dig Deeper It's easy to confuse who is making the promises as the sacrament of baptism is being applied. After all, the minister has several questions for the person being baptized, or in the case of a young child, the parents. And in the case of parents presenting their children for baptism, not only must the parents promise to do all they can to ensure their child will come to know Jesus as Savior, but even the congregation is asked to rise and make the same commitment. But don't ever forget that these promises are made in response to the promise God has made first. Baptism is a celebration and recognition of God's covenant promises to His children. We take great comfort - especially in Reformed churches - in God's sovereign election of those who will receive salvation. Knowing that an unchanging God chose us before the world was created assures us that He will never ever let us go. Since God in His Word so often extends His covenantal offer of salvation to not just particular people, but also their children, it only makes sense that we ought to extend the sign of these promises to our covenant children. Not all Christians agree with this, and since the Bible doesn't overtly specify when in a Christian's life baptism ought to be applied, we must respect our Baptist friends who stand on scripture alone, yet come to a different conclusion. But what a comfort it is to read Psalm 22, and know that even when God seems so far away, you can rest secure knowing that you were His child from the very beginning and always will be. Even though the water placed on you has long since dried up, and you may not even remember your own baptism, never forget that in God's eyes, your head head will always be wet, covered in His covenantal promises. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father is enthroned as the Holy One; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you, as a baptized child of God, will trust in the Lord, which God made you do even from the earliest age (v9); ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 7

Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 100 Q.

Baptism symbolizes you've been washed with the costliest of all detergents. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 70 Q. What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit? A. To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven my sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for me in his sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed me and set me apart to be a member of Christ so that more and more I become dead to sin and increasingly live a holy and blameless life. Summary In his letter to the church in Ephesus Paul writes of the redemption we have through the blood of Christ. Redemption is deliverance through a price or ransom that is paid. The redemption to which Paul is speaking is the deliverance from the guilt of sin which has been paid by the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. Redemption is not free; there is a price that must be paid. That price has been paid by Jesus and is offered freely to those who believe in Him for salvation. Dig Deeper When Katie and I were first married, she worked for a ministry out of Sioux Falls, SD named LifeLight. LifeLight’s claim to fame is being the largest outdoor free Christian music festival. Being a free music festival there was no required entrance fee, however that does not mean that there were no costs. As you can imagine, it can be quite expensive to hire some of the best Christian bands in the world to come sing at the festival, plus all the other costs (electricity, water, etc.) that come with hosting a festival. And while entry was free, these costs still had to be paid. LifeLight ran on donations. While many enjoyed a free experience, others would donate above and beyond to make sure there was enough to cover the festival. Essentially, some people gave more than the value they received in order that others could come for free and hear the gospel proclaimed. In this case, some paid for the many. When it comes to redemption it is not some, but the one who has paid for all. The people of God receive this gift via the grace of God seen in the blood of Christ poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross. In baptism, we are reminded of Christ’s death on our behalf. This sacrament points to the redemption found in Christ and the price paid for our deliverance. Recognizing the price that has been paid on your behalf, live as one who has been forgiven, turning away from the vices of this world and living a life full of gratitude for the gift of grace found in Christ. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who lavishes grace and forgiveness of sin upon us, His children; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will understand more and more the cost of your salvation so that more and more your life will reflect the necessary gratitude for such a gift; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Philemon

Don't get so consumed in your daily battles that you forget your primary orders. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 116 Q. Why do Christians need to pray? A. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking him for them. Summary This passage, often entitled The Armor of God, is familiar to most of us. I was a bit surprised to notice that we'd not yet covered this passage in our readings this year, but it makes sense we come to it now, as we've been focused lately on living out the salvation that's been won for us. Today we're not going to focus as much on the particular pieces of armor we must put on, but rather on the specific orders we've been given to fulfill as soldiers of the Lord. To understand your mission, you must first identify the enemy that you'll be struggling against (literally: wrestling with). It might be surprising to be reminded that the daily problems you wrestle with - which certainly are real and may be very painful - are not the enemy that you've been called to struggle against. The real enemy - who very well may be the source of your daily problems - are the "rulers, authorities, and power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (!!)" who are shooting "flaming arrows" at you. Your orders are as follows: to put on / take up your armor, to stand your ground, and to extinguish the flaming arrows. But your primary tactic is quite surprising: it's not to engage in hand to hand combat, but to be praying in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests... for all of the Lord's saints (v18). Dig Deeper We're beginning the final section of our catechism today, which is focused on prayer. We'll be going through the Lord's prayer over these next couple of months, but before we can do that we have to stop and ask a question that we don't stop to ask enough in life: Why? Why must we pray? You're likely inundated with things that need to be done, both good things that will bring God honor and glory, and things that need to be taken care of to keep your world from collapsing in upon itself. Maybe you've got a couple of these pieces of spiritual armor on but feel ready to go nonetheless, or maybe you're fully suited up and ready for battle. Why waste time praying? Two reasons. First, and foremost, because your King has ordered you to do so. This ought to be reason enough. "Prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us." But there's more! "God gives His grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly." In other words, no matter how awesome your armor is (and it is!), it won't do you one bit of good unless you use it on your knees. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who rules all things through our Savior, the King of kings and Lord of lords and calls us to battle; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to keep you from being distracted by the fog of daily battle so that you fulfill your orders to pray continually; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 16

We're not even 10% of the way into God's law, and already the load is crushing.

Jesus began teaching us how to pray 1,000 years before He was born! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 128 Q. What does your conclusion to this prayer mean? A. “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” means, We have made all these requests of you because, as our all-powerful king, you not only want to, but are able to give us all that is good; and because your holy name, and not we ourselves, should receive all the praise, forever. Summary It's so easy to short circuit our prayers by bypassing the first two steps Jesus taught us - acknowledging who God is and then aligning our lives with His will - and jumping right to the matter that likely drove us to pray in the first place: asking God for what we need. One thing that seems to be missing from this AAA prayer pattern is any sort of thanksgiving or even confession of sin. It's not that those components aren't important; they're critical! But King David here demonstrates that when we acknowledge and align well, the elements of thanksgiving and confession will naturally be included. As David extols God's attributes, he quickly concludes that since "everything in heaven and earth is yours (v11)," and that "wealth and honor come from you... you give strength to all (v12)," then it's fitting to "give you thanks, and praise your glorious name (v13)." Dig Deeper It might surprise you when you go to read the Lord's Prayer in the accounts where Jesus first taught it, which are recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. It seems like a big chunk of what we've come to call the Lord's Prayer isn't even mentioned by Jesus! The words "For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory" are missing from the gospels. What's going on here? Is this the result of some big conspiracy to add words to the Bible that were never there in the first place? Of course not. Jesus did speak these words, just not in the instances where he taught His disciples (that's us) to pray. This past year, we've been unpacking our only comfort, that we belong body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Our journey has taken us through 259 (we'll finish up at 260 tomorrow!) passages. We've read from at least 47 different books of the Bible, spending just slightly more time in the New Testament than what we did in the Old Testament. Of course all of these words we've read are the words of God Himself. The comfort Jesus speaks to you comes through the entire Bible, not just in the red letters of the gospels! Remember, in teaching you this prayer, Jesus isn't commanding you to simply mutter the same words over and over as if they're a magic spell. Rather, He taught a pattern in which your prayers should ordinarily conform to. So it's fitting that we end the prayer Jesus taught us in the gospels with the words He spoke through His Holy Spirit in inspiring David to pray 1,000 years before Jesus came to Earth: Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor... Yours, LORD is the kingdom; you are exalted over all (v11). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Since wealth and honor comes from God, and He is the ruler of all things, pray that you will use the blessings He's given you in a way that honors and glorifies Him; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 21

Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 101 Q.